Sonic Forces: Prelude To War
by PhantomHeartless5
Summary: When Eggman finds a mysterious gemstone called the Phantom Ruby, he decides to harness its incredible power in another bid for world domination. That decision becomes the catalyst for the doctor's greatest triumph. Experience what led up to the greatest war in this thrilling novelization. Covers the prequel comics and Episode Shadow. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1: Enter the Jackal Squad!

**Hey there, fellow fanfic authors! Here we are at part two of what I've come to call the _Sonic Dimensions_ series. Yes, I know I'm months late to the party and there are likely hundreds of _Sonic Forces_ rewrites and novelizations by now, but I still want to do my own take on it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game, flaws and all, but there was a lot of wasted potential, and I hope I can expand on the story. And since I'm the type of guy who likes to compartmentalize things, my novelization will be split in two parts. This part deals with the prequel comics and Episode Shadow. Next part will be the main game itself. My sincere hope is that even if you didn't enjoy the game, you'll at least enjoy this story. Well, on with the show!**

 **Author's Note: This story assumes the reader has read the _Sonic Forces_ prequel comics and has played Episode Shadow. Thus, there will be spoilers for both. **

**Disclaimer: _Sonic the Hedgehog_ is the property of SEGA and Sonic Team. I own nothing.**

 _ **Sonic Forces: Prelude To War**_

It was nighttime. A gigantic white pyramid stood as the centerpiece of a vast desert region. Truthfully, however, this was not a desert. In actuality, this was the iconic Green Hill Zone and the pyramid was one of the many bases belonging to the notorious Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, or Dr. Eggman as he is more commonly called. Green Hill Zone was once a lush grassland, but the not-so-good doctor had recently set up shop here which resulted in massive desertification. Thus, what was once a beautiful plain was now a barren wasteland.

It seemed like a normal night for the most part. But something strange began to occur in the skies above. Crackles of electricity began to ripple through the night sky. The sky began to twist and distort as a dark portal formed. That's when something shot itself out of the portal like a shooting star. The object landed on the ground right in front of the pyramid, giving off an ominous glow...

* * *

 _ **The Next Day...**_

."Hmm...no, no, and NO!" Eggman shouted. He was currently holed up in his new secret base in Green Hill Zone. With the doctor were his loyal assistants Orbot and Cubot. Orbot was the red robot with a round head and Cubot was the yellow robot with a cube head. His latest scheme for world domination had predictably gone down the toilet. He had mentioned that he wanted to find and control the Deadly Six again, but he changed his mind. He had no desire to relive that headache again. Worse, nearly draining the world of its energy with the Extractor brought too much attention to himself and made him a target of G.U.N. Thus, he decided to lay low for a while. The doctor has since been passing the time trying to come up with new designs for his robots... with minimal success.

"Why am I having such a hard time coming up with new robot designs lately?" Eggman asked in frustration.

"Excuse me, boss." Orbot said. "But the proximity sensors have picked up an unusual energy signature right outside." Eggman turned on the security monitor and it displayed a picture of what appeared to be a gemstone buried in the sand just outside. "What in the world?" Eggman walked outside and pulled the gemstone out of the ground. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a magenta ruby with black ripple patterns decorating it.

However, the minute he touched the gem, the ruby began discharging red electricity, striking Eggman in the head. Eggman cried out in pain as the ruby's energy surged through his mind. Before his eyes unfolded a vision of what he desired most: Eggmanland. His own utopia. An amusement park-like citadel that would serve as the capital of a world under his iron grip.

A mad smile tugged at his lips as he drank in the sight of his dream. However, when he reached out to touch his vision, he unconsciously dropped the ruby, causing the vision to vanish. "What? Wait, no! Bring it back, please!" Eggman pleaded, practically crying. After composing himself, Eggman picked up the ruby again.

"So this mysterious gem apparently caused that hallucination." Eggman mused. "This could be useful. Prepare to be researched, jewel!" With that, Eggman retreated into his pyramid base again. Unbeknownst to the good doctor, he was being watched. In the distance, there were two jackals hiding behind a hill and watching Eggman through pairs of binoculars. Both of them were armed with large swords.

"Target has been sighted." One jackal said.

"Time to inform the boss." The other jackal replied.

* * *

 _ **Later that day...**_

Inside a tent at a nearby campsite there was a jackal sharpening his sword. His name was Alexander "Xander" Anubis. Or, as he was more commonly called, Zero. Once, he was a former soldier for G.U.N, but due to... _reasons_ , he was discharged from the military. After which, he decided to form his own military squad. Thus, the Jackal Squad was born. A team consisting of himself and six other skilled jackal warriors, each bringing their own unique talents to form the ultimate mercenary team. They specialized in all manner of jobs ranging from heists, to kidnappings, to assassinations, earning them quite the fearsome reputation. Though their price tag was quite high, they always produced results.

While the Jackal Squad were a force to be reckoned with, Zero had the greatest reputation of them all. His skill and ferocity in battle earned him the title of the "Ultimate Mercenary". His very appearance was that of a hardened warrior. He had jet-black fur, white long and wild dreadlocks, a white collar, and white stripes on his back that resembled a ribcage. He also had a bushy tail with a white tip. Like all members of the Jackal Squad, he wore black gloves with silver streaks on the back as well as pointed, black metal hi-tops. He also has a medium-long white muzzle with cheek tuffs, a black nose, and fangs. His most prominent trait, however, was his eyes. As a result of heterochromia from birth, his left eye was yellow and his right eye was blue and had a noticeable scar, the result of a fight with his father years ago. A fight that he'd rather not talk about.

Zero was busy sharpening his sword, the Crimson Cleaver. It was a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation. While he was tending to his sword, another jackal came into the tent. This was a female jackal with yellow eyes and whose hair was bound in a ponytail that rested above her head. Her attire consisted of a sleeveless green tank-top, black gloves, brown pants decorated with black spots, and black metal hi-tops. She also wore a belt that held two semiautomatic pistols. This was Jade, Zero's second in command.

She and her little brother Tyler had spent most of their lives on the street after being abandoned by their parents. One day, they were cornered and attacked by a street gang when they were rescued by Zero. Since then, they have become Zero's most loyal allies and the first members of his Jackal Squad. Xander and Jade, over the years, developed a romantic relationship, but the back-to-back missions often kept them from spending time together.

Jade had come in to deliver her report. "Hey, Xan." Jade said. Only Jade called Zero by his real name. Everyone else called him either Zero or "Boss". "Sui and Cui just reported in that they found Eggman's secret base."

"Uh-huh." Zero said, not looking up to Jade.

"Tyler's busy hacking into Eggman's security." Jade continued. "He should have it disabled soon."

"Uh-huh" Zero replied, still tending to his blade. Seeing that Zero wasn't listening to her, Jade gave an annoyed growl. "And Jacques and Jack decided they want to wear pantyhose from now on." She hoped _that_ would get his attention.

"Uh-huh." he said again. That made Jade's eye twitch in annoyance. She pulled out her gun, aimed it at the ceiling and fired a shot. The noise from the gun startled Zero. "Goddamnit, Jade! What the hell?!" Zero shouted.

"Well I had to get your attention _somehow_ , seeing as you were a bit preoccupied." Jade replied.

"Right. Sorry about that." Zero said as he sat back in his chair. Jade let out another annoyed sigh. "Alright, Xan. There's obviously something bothering you. Now come on, tell your Auntie Jade what ails you."

Zero sighed. "I'm tired of this life, Jade."

"Xan, we're a bunch of badass mercenaries living a life of adventure few can only dream of." Jade replied. "What could you _possibly_ be tired of?"

"Don't get me wrong. We've had some wild times." Zero replied. "But it's the same routine: We do a job, get paid, blow through the money, then get another job, get paid, blow through the money. I'm in a rut here." Zero sighed again. "I just feel like there's something more to life than this. That there's a greater role for me to play."

As Zero sat deep in thought, Jade smiled and suddenly sat on his lap. "Jade what are you-?!" Before Zero could react, Jade grabbed him by the sides of his face and kissed him. After a bit, she broke off the kiss, caressing his cheek. "Tell you what, Xan. When we're rich, we can play whatever role you want. How's that?"

Zero chuckled. "Aw Jade, you always know how to cheer a man up." With that, Zero grabbed her by the waist and the two went back to kissing again, only to be interrupted by another voice. "Am I interrupting?" It was the voice of a young boy. The two jackals turned to see a younger jackal staring at the two lovers. This jackal wore a green headband and held a matching green dagger in his hand. This was Tyler, Jade's younger brother. Don't be fooled by his age. He is a gifted, technological genius. His computer skills saved the squad on many occasions.

"Tyler?!" Jade jumped off of Zero and the two had deep blushes on their faces, with Zero awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, Tyler. What's the sit-rep?" Zero asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Well, I've just about hacked into Eggman's security." Tyler replied. "So, if you two are done making out, we can move out whenever you're ready."

"Funny. Real funny." Jade said.

"Enough of the jokes." Zero said. The three of them walked out of the tent and found four more jackals awaiting them. One of them was a jackal who wore a red beret and whose arms and legs were wrapped in bandages. In his hand was a curved blade that resembled a small axe. This was Jacques, the squad's demolitions expert. He was a former convict sentenced to life in prison for a string of bombings, but he managed to escape prison by rigging an explosive and using the chaos as cover for his escape. When he heard of Zero's Jackal Squad, he joined up as it gave him an excuse to continue his explosive misdeeds. The reason for the red beret? To him, his explosions are works of art.

The other jackal was a bit different from the others in terms of attire. His gloves and boots were bright orange in color rather than the standard black. He wore an orange belt that held a large assortment of throwing knives. This was Jack the Knife. Even before teaming up with the Jackal Squad, he was a skilled assassin. His talent with his knives were so great that he could pin a fly to a wall by its wings and not kill it. So confident in his skill was he that he never used a firearm. A firm believer in the phrase "Actions speak louder than words", Jack never speaks.

And finally we had the twin brothers Sui and Cui. They were the most recent recruits. A pair of jackals who grew up in the circus as a pair of acrobats. But after years of entertaining people, they eventually grew tired of their fame. One day, after performing their grand finale, they were approached by Zero, who offered them a more exciting life than that of an entertainer. Seduced by the call of adventure, they readily accepted. Sui trained himself to use a sword while Cui specialized in martial arts.

""Okay, listen up!" Zero spoke. "Tyler here has hacked into Eggman's security system and can shut it down. Once he does, we'll only have a short window of time before the doctor's backup system kicks in. We go in hard and fast. Get in their, raid the base, and take anything that looks valuable. All that Eggman tech has to be worth something. We all clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" they all shouted in affirmation.

"Good! Let's move out!" Zero said as they made their way to Eggman's base. Little did Zero know that this simple job would change his life, and the lives of the Jackal Squad forever.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Ruby Temptations! Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ Zero and the Jackal Squad launch their assault on Eggman's base. During the fight, Zero comes into contact with the Phantom Ruby and is shown his hearts desire. Can he resist the allure of the Phantom Ruby, or will he fall to its power. Find out on the next exciting chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**

 **Author's Note: I had fun coming up with the names and backstories for the members of the Jackal Squad. It almost makes me sad for what's gonna happen to them in the future.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Last Temptation of Zero!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ While attempting to come up with new robot designs, Eggman finds a mysterious gemstone lying right at his front door. After being struck by a vision of his heart's desire, Eggman realizes that the gemstone holds a great power and hurriedly begins to experiment on the gemstone, blissfully unaware of the danger approaching...**

"Bah! The reading's are all over the place with this.. this _thing!_ " Eggman cursed as he glared at the ruby, suspended in a glass jar with wires. Ever since he found the ruby, Eggman had been spending hours on end attempting to analyze it, with abysmal results. All of his efforts yielded nothing but red static on the computer monitor. Whatever this thing is, its energy signature was far different from anything he'd ever seen before. It only piqued his scientific curiosity all the more.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I name it?!" Cubot asked excitedly. "What about Spooky Sapphire?"

"It's not blue." Orbot said.

"Anarchy Beryl!" Cubot shouted.

"Too derivative." Orbot said.

"Precious Stone!" Cubot suggested.

"Wrong game." Orbot said.

"No, I will call it... _The Phantom Ruby._ " Eggman said.

"That was going to be my next suggestion!" Cubot whined.

"Hush." Orbot scolded. At that moment, the power suddenly cut off. "Blew a gasket again." Eggman muttered. The base was then rocked by a thunderous explosion. "What was _that?!_ " Eggman asked. That's when another robot sped into the room. This robot was designed to resemble a blue hedgehog. At first glance, one would mistake this to be Sonic the Hedgehog. But this was actually Metal Sonic, a robot crafted by Eggman in the likeness of his mortal enemy.

Metal Sonic was designed to match and exceed Sonic's world-class speed. He also gave Metal Sonic an upgrade that allowed him to copy the skills and abilities of other lifeforms. However, Metal Sonic gained a will of his own and rebelled against Eggman in his own attempt to conquer the world. After he was defeated, Eggman removed the rebellious part of his programming, returning him back to the loyal servant he was.

"Doctor, intruders have breached the main gate." Metal said. Using the built in projector in his optics, Cubot displayed a video of Eggman's Egg Pawns engaging seven jackals in battle.

"But how? The alarm should have warned us!" Eggman shouted.

"It appears they hacked the security system." Orbot said. "That would explain the blackout."

"Curses!" Eggman shouted as he grabbed the Phantom Ruby. "I should've been reinforcing my troops instead of playing with this blasted rock!" At that moment, the Phantom Ruby began to glow brightly and suddenly, hundreds of robots began to manifest around him. These robots were colored steel blue and silver, and had purple eyes. They had a torso in the shape of a hemisphere, with four flashlights arranged in a rectangle on their front and a flat cap-shaped head on top of it. They had relatively short legs, with flat feet and circular ankles, and four-fingered arms that extend almost down to the ground. Some of them were armed with shields and chainsaw swords.

"My Egg Fighters?!" Eggman asked in astonishment. "How the-?!" He looked and the Phantom Ruby and gave a knowing smirk. "Okay, I can work with this! Orbot! Cubot! Fetch me my Egg Walker! Metal Sonic, with me! It's time to put these mad dogs to sleep."

* * *

 ** _Outside..._**

"Jackal Squad, move in for the kill!" Zero commanded, pointing his blade at the door. "Raid the base! All that Eggman tech is sure to fetch a hefty bounty!" The other members of the squad rushed towards the door, but just as they got closer, the door opened and out came a mob of Egg Fighters followed by Metal Sonic and Eggman on his Egg Walker which was basically an Egg Mobile, but with extra features. It had a bazooka-shaped Large Cannon on the right side of the cockpit and a large and elevated Laser Blaster on the left side of the rear. On the bottom, it's equipped with two heavily armored legs.

"Egg Fighters, let's give these jackals hell!" Eggman shouted.

"So the final boss is here at last." Zero said. "Take care of the tin cans! I've got the fat man!" At his command, the squad split off to scatter Eggman's Egg Fighters. Sui and Cui found themselves surrounded by a group of Egg Fighters. As one of the Egg Fighters charged at the twins, Cui pulled out a staff and impaled the Egg Fighter, pinning it to the ground. As he began to spin around, Sui grabbed his tail and began to slice off the heads of the other Egg Fighters as he was spun around on Cui's tail. In one fell swoop, the twins took down all the Egg Fighters.

Jacques charged into the fray, cutting down Egg Fighters with his knife. He was soon stopped by Egg Gunners, black colored Egg Fighters that were outfitted with turrets for hands. "It seems you have caught me, my friends." Jacques said. "But I'd like to play a game first." Jacques pulled out a deck of cards and threw several of them at the Egg Gunners. The cards were magnetic and stuck to their bodies. The robots exchanged confused glances with each other and prepared to fire on Jacques, only for the cards to suddenly explode.

"Magnifique!" Jacques laughed maniacally. "Another masterpiece!" As he was busy gloating, an Egg Fighter snuck up behind him and attempted to slice him in half with its sword. However, the Egg Fighter was struck down by several knives, courtesy of Jack. "Merci, Monsieur Jack." Jacques said. Jack gave a thumbs up in return and the two ran off to fight more Egg Fighters.

Jade, meanwhile, was engaging Metal Sonic in battle. The jackal opened fire on the robotic hedgehog with her twin pistols, but Metal Sonic's incredible speed allowed him to evade every shot. Before she would fire another round, Metal Sonic grabbed her by the throat. This was hardly a deterrent for Jade, who simply fired more shots. However, the bullets bounced off of Metal Sonic's armor.

"I think we've established that this isn't working." Metal Sonic snidely remarked.

"I know." Jade smirked. "Just needed you to hold still for a minute." Metal Sonic gave a quizzical head tilt, but before he could react, he felt something hit his back. Metal Sonic screamed in agony and released Jade from his grip as electricity surged through his body. He looked to see Tyler standing over him. "Electromagnetic scrambler. Never leave home without it." Tyler said as he and Jade high-fived each other.

Suddenly, Metal Sonic melted into a metallic liquid. His head now had five long quills as opposed to his regular three, with white stripes and markings around his eyes. The yellow color in his ears had been replaced with red and his nose was now black. He also had gained more pronounced body armor, with black and curved shoulder plates, larger gauntlets and leg armor with pointy knee caps that has white outlines, a plate covering his pelvis and elf-like shoes. He also sported a spiky belt with a black cape that protruded out of the back of his waist.

This was his "Neo" form, part of an upgrade the Dr. Eggman gave him a few years ago. The upgrade, however, caused Metal Sonic to rebel against Eggman and attempt to conquer the world for himself. After his defeat, Eggman erased his corrupt programming, but allowed him to keep the upgrade after seeing how powerful it made him.

Before the two jackals could react, Metal Sonic dashed forward and delivered a punishing kick to Jade's midsection, knocking the wind clean out of her lungs and sending her to the ground. Tyler attempted to attack Metal Sonic with his dagger, only for Metal Sonic to grab him by the wrist and electrocute him. Tyler screamed in pain as electricity coursed through his body. Metal then punched him in the gut, knocking him out cold.

"Turnabout is fair play." Metal Sonic sneered.

Seeing their teammates in danger, the other members of the squad rushed to Jade and Tyler's aid. Cui lashed out with his staff, but Metal Sonic grabbed it and used it to slam Cui to the ground. Sui attempted to slice Metal Sonic with his sword, but the robotic hedgehog shattered the blade with a single punch, then sent him flying with a blast of electricity. Jack threw several knives at Metal Sonic, but he teleported behind Jack and delivered a roundhouse kick to the back of his head, knocking him to the ground.

However, the metallic hedgehog was too late to avoid an incoming missile, fired by Jacques from the missile launcher he had strapped to his back. "Au Revoir, you bucket of bolts." he smirked. The smirk quickly vanished off his face when the smoke cleared, revealing that Metal Sonic had used his Black Shield to defend against the missile. Panicked, Jacques tried to fire off another shot, but Metal Sonic rushed over to him and clamped his hand over the missile launcher, causing it to explode in Jacques' hand.

As he looked over the unconscious bodies of the Jackal Squad, he said to himself, "All too easy".

Meanwhile, Zero was locked in battle with Eggman. Eggman opened fire on Zero with his Large Cannon, unleashing a barrage of shots. Zero spun his sword in front of him to deflect the bullets as he charged towards Eggman. The doctor fired some homing shots from his Laser Blaster, but Zero leapt into the air. Eggman unleashed a barrage of missiles at Zero, but the jackal leapt from missile to missile until he was close enough to throw the Crimson Cleaver right at the Egg Mobile, causing it to explode and knocking Eggman to the ground.

"Damn it..." Eggman growled. He tried to get to his feet, only for Zero to point his blade at his face. "Doctor Eggman, I presume?" Zero mockingly asked. "This looks like checkmate, doc." He raised his sword in the air, ready to strike the final blow. "Now hold still so I don't make too much of a mess." He brought the sword down, intent on splitting Eggman clean in half.

"NO!" Eggman shouted as he outstretched his hand to defend himself, unaware that he was holding the Phantom Ruby. Zero's sword struck the ruby and crimson electricity surged from the gemstone and struck Zero in the head. The mercenary screamed in pain as the ruby's energy overwhelmed him.

He opened his eyes and was struck by a vision.

He found himself standing amidst the ruins of a city. As far as the eye could see, there were nothing but destroyed buildings for miles and miles. The ground was littered with the corpses of fallen soldiers, human and animal alike. But it was when he turned his gaze to the darkened sky above did his eyes truly widen. What he saw...was himself. Only he wore a metallic silver-colored mask While his left eye was visible through a red visor, his right eye was covered by a black lightning bolt-shaped piece, similar to an eyepatch, that was connected to his mask's right ear. On his chest was a strange gemstone much like the Phantom Ruby.

Zero saw himself hovering above the ashes of this destroyed world, surrounded in an aura of dark crimson energy. His very presence exuded dominance. To mere mortals, he was like a god. "What the hell...?" he asked. However, Zero was quickly brought back to reality by a punch to the face from Eggman, knocking him to the ground. At the same time, Metal Sonic dragged the other members of the squad to Eggman.

Eggman gave a hearty laugh. "Now _you_... You're quite the interesting fellow." he said. "Tell you what; Instead of running around, stealing for your next meal, why don't you come work for me? Together, we can rule the world! And I'll pay you handsomely, of course." He outstretched his hand. "What do you say? Partners?"

"Don't be tempted by him, boss!" Tyler shouted. He tried to stand, but Metal Sonic pinned him to the ground by placing his foot on his back. "We'll be fine!"

"Don't listen to him, Xan!" Jade pleaded. Zero remained silent for the longest time, nursing his injured cheek. Then a chuckle escaped from his throat. The chuckle then grew into a mad fit of laughter. It sounded like the poor jackal had truly lost his mind. Eventually, he calmed down.

"Interesting." he said. "Earlier today, I was telling Jade that I was getting bored with this life of just going through the motions, one day bleeding into the next. And now it took a rock to show me what I was missing. It must be fate. Maybe this was the answer to my prayers all along." He stood up and grabbed the doctor's hand.

"Alright, doc, the Jackal Squad is at your service!" Zero said.

"Splendid!" Eggman said. "Why don't we come inside and discuss this in my office?" Eggman walked into the building with Metal Sonic following close behind. Once they were gone, Jade grabbed Zero by the shoulders. "Xander, what the hell are you doing?!" she asked.

""Boss, this is crazy!" Tyler said. "We were trying to rob Eggman! Why are we suddenly working for him."

" _Qui_ , _mon capitan_ , this seems like madness." Jacques said. Jack voiced his displeasure with a thumbs-down.

"Don't you all get it?" Zero asked. His expression was one of pure insanity. His eyes were wide, his tone of voice almost manic. "This is the answer I've been looking for! This is the chance for a better life for all of us!"

"How the hell is working for Eggman a better life?" Jade asked.

"That rock he was holding... It's got some strange power." he said. "It showed me a vision. A vision of me with powers, ruling over everything! I couldn't make sense of it, but whatever the future holds, that rock is the key." He stared at Eggman as he walked into the building, his eyes fixated on the Phantom Ruby...

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: A Vanishing Future. Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ Silver's future is once again thrown into turmoil! A mysterious void has appeared and is slowly erasing everything in sight as well as spawning vicious monsters. Hoping to stop the disaster before it even begins, Silver heads back to the past. Will our psychic hero be able to save his future once again? Find out on the next exciting chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**


	3. Chapter 3: A Vanishing Future!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ As Eggman was busy analyzing the mysterious gemstone he coined "The Phantom Ruby", his base came under attack by the Jackal Squad, a band of mercenaries led by the infamous Zero. Just as Zero had cornered Eggman and prepared to strike the final blow, his blade struck the ruby, causing it to show him a vision of his heart's desire. Intrigued by the jackal, Eggman offers him and his squad a chance to join him, a deal Zero readily accepted. Now our tale takes us to the far future, where a crisis of unheard of dimensions unfolds...**

 **Author's Note: Just in case I get any confused questions, let's provide some context: For those who know, Silver's debut was in _Sonic 06_ , but the ending of the game pretty much retconned it out of existence, making _Sonic Rivals_ his official debut. Likewise, _Sonic Rivals_ reveals that Dr. Eggman Nega is from the future as well instead of being from the Sol Dimension like Blaze. Hopefully this clears up the confusion.**

It was the year 2049 in Onyx City, home to the time-traveling hero, Silver the Hedgehog. It had been quite a while since Silver's last adventure where he had to prevent Dr. Eggman Nega from unleashing a monster called the Irifit to destroy the world, during which he became friends with Sonic the Hedgehog. Yes, things have been pretty peaceful.

However, that peace had been brutally shattered.

It all started a few days ago when a strange tear in space began to form in the sky. It was so small that it looked like a tiny black dot in the sky. Thus, no one paid any attention to it. However, as the days passed, the rift began to grow in size, eventually growing large enough to garner the attention of those at the Science Center, who quickly got to work analyzing the portal. Alas, their efforts were all in vain. The strange energy the portal emanated made it impossible to fully analyze.

Unfortunately for them, that would be the _least_ of their worries.

From the portal descended hideous creatures of all shapes and sizes. Many of them were muscular brutes that were as black as night. They had the heads of jackals that were silver in color and had mouths full of razor-sharp teeth. Some of them had four arms. Some of them were flying serpents with wings.

The monsters attacked without warning, indiscriminately massacring everyone in sight. Men, women, children, no one was spared from the terrible onslaught. The New Guardian Units of Nations did their best to fend off the otherworldly invaders, but it was a difficult battle. Whenever they destroyed some, more arose to take their place. It was quickly becoming a war of attrition. And just when things couldn't get worse, buildings everywhere began disintegrating, fading away into nothingness as if being swallowed by the void, which seemed to grow day by day.

The Onyx City Council was eventually forced to order a full scale evacuation of Onyx City. Silver himself did his best to help out, mainly by finding civilians and escorting them to established safe zones. Of course, when everything's literally disintegrating around you, where are you truly safe?

Silver flew through the city, using his telekinesis to propel himself through the air when he heard the all-too familiar sound of a woman's shriek. He looked to see a young woman surrounded by a group of the creatures. The monsters pounced on the young woman, who cowered in total fear, awaiting her brutal demise. When she realized that she was still alive, she tentatively looked to see her attackers paralyzed by Silver's telekinesis. The psychic hedgehog then threw the monsters aside.

Silver floated down next to the frightened woman. "You okay, ma'am?" He asked.

"Yes. Thank you so much!" the woman cried.

"No problem. But it's way too dangerous to be out here." Silver said. "Come on, I'll take you to a safe zone." Silver surrounded himself and the woman with psychic energy and the two flew off to the nearest safe zone, which was actually a stadium converted into an emergency shelter. He dropped the woman off at the shelter where a soldier was waiting for him.

"Nice work, Silver!" the soldier said. "We can take it from here! Why don't you go and see-" The soldier was interrupted by groaning from the woman, who clutched her head and thrashed about in pain. "You okay, ma'am?!" the soldier asked in a panic. Both he and Silver watched in horror as crimson cracks began forming on the woman's body. With a bloodcurdling scream, the woman's body dissolved into red cubes.

"Wh-What the hell was that?!" the soldier asked, astonishment and fear easily heard in his voice.

".My God..." Silver said. "I have to see the professor about this!"

* * *

 _ **Later, at the Science Center...**_

"Oh, this is not good." the scientist cursed. The scientist was a turquoise-skinned man with orange hair. This was none other than Professor Von Schlemmer, hailed as the greatest scientist in Onyx City. Ever since the crisis began, the professor had been hard at work trying to find a way to close the portal. But it seemed even his genius was of no help as he had yet to find a solution.

Walking up to him was a young female tenrec (a lesser species of hedgehog). She had gold fur, brown skin and a patch of short ivory chest fur on her upper torso. She had round ears on top of her head, light blue eyes with light blue eye markings, and a pale yellow incomplete circle marking on her forehead. Her attire consisted of a brown-colored sari with blue and gold markings on the edge. It draped over her left arm and left her right arm bare. She wore white leggings and brown open-toed sandals that matched her sari. On each wrist and ankle she wore a stack of four simple gold bracelets.

This was Gold, Schlemmer's assistant and Silver's best friend. Like Silver, Gold possessed powerful psychic abilities. But while Silver specialized in telekinesis, Gold was a powerful telepath. However, she was still untrained in using her powers. Silver was attempting to teach her telekinesis. She was once part of the Onyx City Council, but she left the council when the crisis emerged to take a more proactive role.

"What's wrong, professor?" Gold asked.

"You're a telepath, Gold." Schlemmer replied, his voice carrying a heavy German accent. "You shouldn't have to ask."

"You know I don't like reading people's thoughts without their permission." Gold replied. "But I don't need telepathy to see that something's bothering you." Schlemmer sighed. "Well it's-" Before the professor could say any more, Silver ran into the lab, sweating and panting hard.

"Vat's the matter, Silver?" Schlemmer asked. "You look even paler than normal!"

"Something terrible just happened!" Silver replied. "I was escorting a woman to one of the safe zones when she suddenly dissolved into cubes! Just like... Just like the buildings and roads."

"Dissolved into cubes?" Schlemmer asked with mild disbelief. Gold, meanwhile, closed her eyes and performed a psychic sweep of the city, "scanning" the minds of the civilians. The moment she did, however, she let out a piercing scream and clutched her head as she fell to her knees in pain.

"Gold! What's wrong?!" Silver asked as he rushed to his friend's aid.

"I can... hear them." Gold shakily replied. "Their screams. Their anguish. Their fear The people are fading into nothingness."

"Zen my vorst fears are convirmed." Schlemmer said.

"What do you mean?" Silver asked. The professor pressed a button on the keyboard and brought up a screen showing the portal. "I've been monitoring the portal, but its energy is too alien to analyze. I have been theorizing zat ze portal has been growing as it's been absorbing matter. Und from vat you've just told us, it seems zat ze portal has grown strong enough to begin absorbing people now."

"What does that mean?" Silver asked.

"It means that soon, it won't matter if we evacuate or not." Gold said. "That void will keep expanding as it absorbs all in its path. Soon, our world, maybe all of existence will be erased."

"There _has_ to be a way to stop it!" Silver said.

"I'm afraid not." Schlemmer solemnly replied as he sat in his chair. "At the rate it's going, Onyx City will be erased in mere days und ze rest of ze vorld vill follow in mere months. Zere may be nothing more ve can do."

"That's bullshit!" Silver cursed, slamming his fist down on the keyboard. "I didn't go through the trouble of saving the future once just to see it die! I already saved my future once, I can do it again! You're the greatest mind in Onyx City! You _have_ to know a way to stop this madness!"

Schlemmer remained silent for a moment, then spoke. "Well, zere may be a way... but it's a one-in-a-million chance for success."

"Then there's still a chance! What is it?" Silver asked.

"Come vith me." Schlemmer walked out of the room with the two hedgehogs following close behind. The trio made their way down the winding hallway until they reached the Temporal Research Department, which housed the Historical Archives, records of all the historical events up to this point. They were arraigned pretty much like a library. Schlemmer walked to a shelf and pulled a disc out.

He pressed a button on the ring and nothing but red static emerged in the center where the screen was supposed to display a movie of that specific time period. "Take a look at zis." Schlemmer said. "Zis is from Sonic's time period Notice the red static?"

"What about it?" Silver asked.

"Zat's ze same red static zat occurs anytime I try to analyze zat void." Schlemmer replied. "At first I thought it vas a coincidence, a malfunction in ze disc. But ze other rings are vorking just fine."

"So something in Sonic's time is the cause of this chaos." Gold said.

"And if I can find can find and destroy it, I can stop this madness from ever happening! It's brilliant!" Silver cheered.

"Und you didn't have to read my mind." Schlemmer chuckled before his expression turned stoic. "Quickly, zere's not much time." He went to the back wall and placed a hand on the panel. That opened a door to a giant Ring. In actuality, it was a time machine invented by Schlemmer. This was how Silver was able to get to Sonic's time for his first adventure. Schlemmer went to the keyboard and began typing. He inserted the disc inside and the machine whirred to life, generating a swirling, multicolored portal.

"Silver. I want to come with you." Gold said.

"No way! It's too dangerous!" Silver said. "I need you-"

"No!" Gold sharply cut him off. "I'm not going to just sit here while you go off to play hero! I might not be as strong as you, but it's my future too and I'm just as willing to fight for it as you are! So I'm going and you can't stop me!" Silver stared at Gold for a while. "When did you get so stubborn?" he asked.

"I learn from the best." Gold smirked with a playful punch to Silver's shoulder.

"Kinder, please!" Schlemmer shouted. "Zere's no time to vaste! The portal won't stay open long Und zere's only enough power for one trip. I've had to ration power since those monsters attacked the power plant. Once you get to ze past, you won't be able to get back until you destroy ze source of zis crisis. Good luck, you two."

"We don't need luck, professor." Silver said. "We just need hope. Let's go, Gold."

"Right, Silver!" Gold replied as she and Silver leapt through the portal.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Stress Test! Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ Knuckles is relaxing at Angel Island when he is approached by Silver and Gold, who have come to warn him of an impending crisis. Things get hectic, however, when the trio are attacked by Chaos. Will Silver and Knuckles be able to best the God of Destruction? Find out on the next exciting chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**

 **Author's Note: Two things.**

 **1). I had to split this into two parts as adding Silver's story and Knuckles' story would make the chapter too long. Stress Test is the next part.**

 **2). No Professor Von Schlemmer and Gold the Tenrec aren't OCs. They're characters from the Sonic Archie Comics (Specifically, _Sonic Universe_ issues 79-82). As for whether any other Archie characters will appear, well... We'll just have to wait and see.**


	4. Chapter 4: Stress Test!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ Silver's future is once again thrown into chaos! A mysterious tear in space has emerged and began erasing everything in sight, growing as it absorbs everything. Also, vicious monsters have emerged and began attacking the civilians of Onyx City. Hoping to stop the crisis before it ever begins, Silver travels back to the past accompanied by his friend Gold, a powerful telepathic tenrec. Now the psychic duo arrive at Angel Island to deliver a dire warning to its guardian...**

The portal opened up and Silver and Gold walked out to find themselves on what appeared to be a forest of sorts. "Where are we?" Gold asked as she looked on in astonishment., taking in the beauty of her surroundings. It was vastly different from the crowded, futuristic feel of Onyx City. Unlike Silver, she had never traveled to the past, so this was all still new to her. A butterfly landed on her finger and she stared at it for a few moments before watching it fly away.

Silver typed in his wrist computer, scanning the GPS. "According to the computer, we're on Angel Island." Silver replied. "Or more accurately, the Onyx Island of the past. But there's no time for sightseeing! We need to find Knuckles!"

"Knuckles... He's the guardian of the Master Emerald, yes?" Gold asked.

"Yeah. And he's one of the toughest guys I know." Silver said. "We'll definitely need his help. He should be at the Master Emerald's altar. Come on!" Using his telekinesis, Silver lifted himself and Gold off the ground and flew off towards the altar of the Master Emerald.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

Knuckles was lying against the Master Emerald, eyes closed as he relaxed against the gemstone. After Eggman's latest scheme for world domination went awry, the doctor had been laying low for a while. Of course, Knuckles wasn't complaining as it meant that he could spend more time guarding the Master Emerald and less time getting wrapped up in Sonic's crazy adventures. It also meant that he had more time for treasure hunting.

In fact, Knuckles had just returned from a successful treasure hunt when he decided to unwind and take a nap. " _As much as I enjoy a good treasure hunt, you can't beat the peace and quiet of Angel Island_." he thought to himself. " _Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've been roped into one of Sonic's adventures. I'm always saving his_..."

"Knuckles!" A voice called out, snapping Knuckles out of his slumber. The echidna looked to see Silver and a female tenrec floating towards him. "Oh good, you _are_ here!" Silver said. Knuckles rose to his feet and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as Silver and his companion landed in front of him.

"Silver?" Knuckles asked.

"We've got big trouble!" Silver said. "There's-!"

"How can you be here?" Knuckles asked. "I thought you returned to the future?" He turned to the female tenrec. "And who's this?"

"My name's Gold." the girl replied. "It's an honor to meet you."

"There's no time!" Silver shouted. "We're all in danger! Something terrible is about to happen!" Knuckles placed a hand to his chin as he thought on this, then chuckled as if he came to an obvious conclusion. "Oh, I get it! I must be dreaming!" Knuckles said. Silver and Gold exchanged confused glances with one another.

"What?! No! We came back with a dire warning from the future!" Silver protested. Knuckles turned around and was about to go back to sleep. But when he turned around, his eyes went wide with shock. "Well, if this isn't a dream, then how do you explain _**that?!**_ " he asked. The two psychic hedgehogs turned to where Knuckles was pointing and they too were astonished by what they saw: Angel Island was gone and in its place was a village populated by many echidna.

"Where'd Angel Island go?!" Silver asked.

"Where are we?" Gold asked.

"This is Pachacamac's village from the past..." Knuckles trailed off. "What will be known as the Mystic Ruins." He grabbed Silver by the shoulders and shook him violently. "Silver, what the hell?! Did you teleport us into the past or something?!" he asked.

"N-No!" Silver stammered. "Gold and I just came to this time period! I don't know what's going on!" As Knuckles and Silver argued, Gold noticed the Master Emerald beginning to glow. That's when the water around it began to coalesce into a humanoid shape with glowing green eyes and an exposed brain.

"Guys? We have company." Gold said, backing away. Knuckles and Silver turned to see a water monster standing on the Master Emerald. "Oh, _that?_ " Knuckles asked. "That's Chaos, the peaceful guardian of the Chao. He's friendly!" Knuckles turned to face Chaos, unaware that the watery creature had a fist raised and ready to strike. "Hey Chaos! How's it-!" Knuckles' greeting was rudely interrupted by a watery fist to his face, knocking the echidna clean off the ground.

Silver and Gold rushed to Knuckles aid. "Friendly, huh?" Silver asked sarcastically. Knuckles nursed his injured cheek. "I forgot he's got a bit of a temper." Knuckles replied. "Luckily, I know how to put him in his place!" Knuckles rushed at Chaos to deliver a punch, but the demigod opened a hole in his body, causing Knuckles' attack to go right through him. Chaos then fired a blast of water at Knuckles, knocking him to the ground.

Chaos then dived at Knuckles, but Silver jumped in front of him and trapped the water monster in a psychic barrier. "You're not going anywhere!" Silver declared. Unknown to Silver, a piece of Chaos managed to avoid getting caught in his trap. That same piece came to life and swiped Silver across the cheek, cutting him right below the eye and causing him to bleed a bit. The blow caused Silver to lose his concentration and release Chaos from his hold.

Before Chaos could do anything, he clutched his head and thrashed in pain as he heard a voice in his mind. It was Gold using her telepathy to communicate with the deity. " _Please stop, Chaos!_ " she pleaded. " _We mean you no harm! We only wish-!_ " Before she could say any more, Chaos retaliated by tossing several ice shards at Gold. Knuckles pushed Gold out of the way in the nick of time.

"Those are some new tricks." Knuckles remarked as Silver flew to his side. "I don't get it. Chaos is acting like he was before Sonic purified him of his rage."

"Gold, what did you sense from him?" Silver asked.

"It's strange." Gold replied. "When I read his mind, I felt nothing but rage... and red static. I don't know what it means, but it's clear that reasoning with him is out of the question."

"Well then we've gotta take him down!" Silver said. "Knuckles, how do we stop him?"

"Get me a clear shot at his brain!" Knuckles said.

"I can stop his body!" Silver said.

"And I can stop his mind!" Gold said.

"Then we have a plan!" Knuckles said. "On three! One...!"

"Two...!" Silver shouted!

"Three!" They yelled in unison. Chaos regenerated his arm and moved to attack. The minute he did, Silver and Gold went to work. Gold launched an ESP attack on Chaos' mind. The psychic assault disoriented the water deity. Silver then used his telekinesis to freeze Chaos' body in place. "Now, Knuckles!" Silver shouted.

Knuckles lunged at Chaos and delivered a solid punch to Chaos' exposed brain, the spikes on his fists impaling the soft flesh. But that's when things got... weird. The minute his fist made contact, Chaos... _vanished_. He didn't burst into water puddles like he normally did, he just... disappeared. "What the...?" Knuckles asked. He and the others looked around to see that not only was Chaos gone, but Pachacamac's village had disappeared along with him as if it was never there to begin with.

"Where'd Chaos go? Where'd the village go? What the hell is going on?!" Knuckles asked, his tone a mixture of confusion and frustration.

"This must tie into the calamity that's about to befall this world!" Gold said.

"Come again?" Knuckles asked.

"Something happens in this time period that brings the world to ruin!" Silver said. "It's unclear what exactly happens because the historical data is all jumbled up. We came here hoping to stop it at the source."

"And you came to warn me about it." Knuckles said.

"Actually, it was random." Gold interjected. "The time machine didn't have exact coordinates so it just sent us here."

"Regardless, if you hadn't come to me, I wouldn't have known about it until it was too late." Knuckles said. "You coming here wasn't an accident. Clearly my help is needed." He clenched his fists together. "If there _is_ a big crisis coming, then I'll be the one to lead the charge against it!"

"I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's good to have you aboard!" Silver said. "Now let's find Sonic and the others! We're gonna need everyone's help here!" While Silver and Knuckles were talking, Gold was looking up at the sky as if she sensed something. "Something wrong, Gold?" Silver asked.

"For a second, I thought I sensed something." Gold replied.

"Like what?" Knuckles asked.

"Like..." Gold paused for a moment, then shook her head. "Nothing. It was probably my imagination. Let's get moving." Silver and Knuckles looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Silver used his telekinesis to lift himself and Gold into the air as Knuckles glided off the island with the psychic hedgehogs following close behind.

Unknown to the trio, however, they were indeed being watched.

High above the island was none other than Dr. Eggman riding his Egg Mobile. In his hand was the Phantom Ruby. "Oh ho ho ho!" The doctor cackled. "The first test of the Phantom Ruby's power was a smashing success! With such power, I won't need to bother with that pathetic Master Emerald! Get ready, Sonic! You'll be no match against the might of the Phantom Ruby!"

Then Eggman placed a hand on his chin as he pondered on something. "Still, I didn't expect to see Silver here." he said. "Judging from their conversation, they seem to be in the dark about my plans. That said, I can't be too careful." Eggman pressed a button on his wrist communicator and what appeared to be a patchwork doll crafted in the likeness of Tails flew to his location. The doll's most noticeable characteristic was the red gemstone attached to its head like an antenna.

"Follow them." Eggman commanded. "I want to know what they're planning." The doll wordlessly flew off after the trio. "Now that that's out of the way, time for some more research!" Eggman declared. He then stared at the Phantom Ruby.

"I still have so much more to learn about you, ruby." he chuckled malevolently.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: An Assassin's Pride. Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ Zero and the Jackal Squad are assigned to safeguard Eggman's Casino Laboratory in Mystic Jungle when Shadow attacks the lab to gather Intel on Eggman's schemes. When the Jackal Squad proves unable to defeat Shadow, it falls to Zero to stop him. Can the Ultimate Mercenary best the Ultimate Life Form? Find out on the next exciting chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**


	5. Chapter 5: Shadow Attacks!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ Silver and Gold traveled from the past and arrived at Angel Island. There, they met Knuckles and attempted to warn them about the impending doom that was to befall their world. The conversation was cut short when they suddenly found themselves in the village of the Knuckles Clan. They were then attacked by Chaos, the guardian of the Chao. With some clever teamwork, the trio managed to bring down the God of Destruction and flew off to gather the rest of their allies, blissfully unaware that it was all an illusion by Eggman using the power of the Phantom Ruby. Now our story takes us to the Mystic Jungle where Eggman is currently experimenting on the Ruby.**

 **Author's Note: Sorry this is late, everyone. I've been playing my newest obsession, _Hollow Knight_ , and _then_ I had death in the family. Jesus Christ, it's been a crazy couple of weeks, but hopefully things'll be back to normal soon** **. Anyway, this chapter is another two-parter. This part is Shadow vs the Jackal Squad. Next part is Shadow vs Zero.**

" _Two weeks_." Jade thought. " _Two goddamn, miserable weeks_." That's how long its been since the Jackal Squad started working for Eggman. It was a rather uneventful couple of weeks. Most of their "missions" revolved around helping Eggman around the lab. She and the Jackal Squad were currently on guard duty here at Eggman's casino laboratory in the Mystic Jungle. Eggman had relocated here because he felt it'd be more secluded. Eggman had been working on some top secret research codenamed Project: Phantom.

Only Eggman knew what this so-called project entailed. Jade attempted to ask Eggman about it, but the doctor was always evasive about it. Zero, despite being the doctor's new right hand, was apparently not important enough to be in on the project as he didn't know anything. She tried asking Orbot and Cubot, but they were programmed not to say anything. And Metal Sonic wasn't exactly the talkative type.

The whole thing was really beginning to stick in her craw. It had been two weeks since they started working for Eggman and their _glorious leader_ had yet to fill them in on his master plan. That was worrying. Jade was willing to do any job as long as the money was right, but she'd still like to have _some_ information. But it wasn't the lack of information that was worrying her...

...It was Zero.

Ever since Zero touched that rock the doctor had, he had been acting strange. He was colder, distant, and completely obsessed with that ruby. The others had tried talking to him, but all he would say was that there were big changes coming. Whatever that meant. Jade sighed. From her vantage point in the treetops, she could see if any intruders come by. But since they were isolated in a jungle, she doubted any intruders would come by.

Bored out of her mind, Jade began to fall asleep. But her impromptu nap was quickly interrupted by the familiar sound of her younger brother Tyler calling out to her. "Hey Jade, a word?" he said. Jade jumped down from the tree. "What're you doing here, Tyler?" she asked. "Why aren't you at your post?"

"There hasn't been any intruder alerts since we started guard duty and I doubt there'll be any by the time I get back." Tyler said. "Besides, I really need to talk to you."

"About what?" Jade asked.

"You know what." Tyler replied. "This whole arrangement we've got with the doctor. For weeks now, we've been doing his errands and not once has he told us about his pet project. Don't you find this the least bit sketchy?"

"Well duh." Jade said. "But what can we do? We're just grunts doing it for the money. Besides, you're the master hacker. Can't you just hack into Eggman's files?"

"I tried." Tyler said. "But Egghead's encrypted his files to keep me out. Anyway, I'm more concerned about the boss."

"Join the club." Jade muttered.

"I just don't get it!" Tyler shouted. "Why would the boss be so willing to work with someone he knows so little about?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Jade remarked. "He says this is a good thing for us."

"So he touches some magic rock and suddenly he's Team Eggman?" Tyler sarcastically asked. "C'mon Jade. I know he's your boyfriend, but you know that's bullshit.'

" _Do I detect a hint of doubt, little brother?_ " Zero's voice chimed in via the communicator on Jade's ear.

"Xander?!" Jade shouted, startled.

"Are you eavesdropping on us?!" Tyler asked. "Creepy, much?"

"Hey, Tyler. Why don't you go back to your post?" Zero asked. "Jade and I need some alone time."

"Right, I get it. Adult talk. Whatever." With that, Tyler sulked away to his post, leaving Jade alone. Once Tyler was out of sight, Jade spoke to Zero? "Xander, he didn't-"

" _It's alright, Jade_." Zero replied. " _Look, I know this is kinda crazy, but trust me, this'll all work out_."

"You keep saying that, but I gotta tell you, it's really hard to believe that." Jade said. "Really, Xan, it's been two weeks since we started working for Eggman and we've been doing nothing but his errands! He hasn't told us a damn thing about what his plan is. Not even you know, and you're his right-hand man! How the hell is this helping us?"

Zero went silent for a moment. " _Remember when I told you that I felt there was something more to life than being a mercenary?_ " he asked. " _This could be it._ "

And you know this _how?_ " asked the skeptical Jade.

"It was that ruby." Zero replied. " _Ever since I saw touched it... Ever since I saw that vision, I... I dunno how to explain it. It's like... Like it knew what I wanted._ "

"Xan... do you know how crazy you sound?" Jade asked.

" _Yeah, I know I sound completely Looney Tunes_." Zero replied. " _All I'm trying to say is... I need you guys to trust me. I dunno where this is going. Maybe this is going nowhere, but I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think this would lead to something better. I'm doing this for you. You guys are the only real family I have, after all, and I wouldn't do anything to put you guys in danger. And if this turns out to be a raw deal, I promise we'll bail_."

Jade remained silent as she listened to Zero. The guy always had a way of sweet-talking her. Though he rarely showed it, Zero was a bit of a romantic. It's the reason she dated him, after all. "I do trust you, Xan." she replied. "All I'm asking is.. Just promise me you'll be careful. I won't always be there to save your ass like last time."

" _You're_ still _going on about that job in Shamar?_ " Zero asked. " _It was just one time! And need I remind you that I_ let _myself get captured?_ "

" _Sure_ you did." Jade jokingly remarked.

" _Just get back to your post_." Zero chuckled as he cut the connection. Jade jumped back on the tree, but when she looked up at the sky she saw something moving in the air. Upon looking through her binoculars, she saw that the object in question was a large glider piloted by what appeared to be a black hedgehog. But it was the insignia on the glider that alarmed her. It was a _G.U.N_ glider.

"Oh shit. Gotta warn the guys." Jade said as she rushed to the base.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, at the base...**_

The other members of the squad were in the casino playing cards. With no intruders around and nothing to do, they were bored out of their minds. The card game came to a halt when Jade burst through the door. "Showtime, guys! Let's move!" she shouted. The group stopped what they were doing, grabbed their weapons, and ran outside. "What's going on, Sis?!" Tyler asked.

"We got company!" Jade said. "Someone's-!" Jade was soon cut off by a tremendous explosion at the front gates. The squad dropped into battle stances, awaiting whatever would emerge from the gates. What emerged was the same black hedgehog Jade saw earlier. The black hedgehog had six quills on his head with a red stripe on each quill. The four quills on the sides of his head curved upwards while the two quills on the back of his head curved downwards. He also had a red stripe around the edges of his eyes and on his arms and legs. He also had a patch of white fur on his chest, and a tan muzzle. He had two spines on his back and a small tail. His attire consisted of white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, and Air Shoes which, like his gloves, had black cuffs and red tongues. On each of his wrists and ankles, he wore a single gold ring. His most striking feature were his scarlet eyes. These were the eyes of someone who had seen battle.

"A casino in a jungle." The hedgehog mused to himself as he looked around. "Not the most subtle place to hide a laboratory, Doctor."

"Who the hell are you?" Jade asked. The hedgehog turned to face her. "I'm Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog." he replied. "And I should be asking that question. Who are you clowns supposed to be? The hired help?"

"Watch it, asshole." Tyler snarled. "You know who you're talking to?!"

"Don't know, don't care." Shadow bluntly replied. "Tell me where Eggman is."

"Wanna know where he is?" Jade asked. "Try asking around in Hell!" She drew her gun and fired several shots. By all accounts, it _should've_ been a clear shot, but Shadow... vanished. Disappeared completely. " _Sacre Bleu!_ " exclaimed Jacques. The squad frantically looked around for the intruder.

""That's impossible!" Tyler shouted. "What the hell? No one can move that fast!"

"Gotta say..." Shadow's voice called out. The squad looked behind them to see Shadow leaning against a palm tree with his arms folded. An unimpressed scowl decorated his face. "The good doctor's standards must've lowered drastically if he's resorted to hiring you idiots. Just tell me where Eggman's lab is and I won't have to hurt you."

Sui and Cui lunged at Shadow with blades drawn. A smirk tugged at the dark hedgehog's lips and he teleported away once more, causing the two to lock blades with each other. They looked to see Shadow behind them. The Jackal twins charged at Shadow with a coordinated series of blade slashes. Displaying inhuman speed, Shadow dodged their attacks before grabbing Cui and throwing him at Sui.

Sensing something coming at him Shadow cartwheeled out of the way just as Jack threw several knives at him. Before Jack could react, Shadow fired several Chaos Spears at the jackal, the explosion sending him flying into a wall. Jade opened fire on Shadow with her guns but Shadow dodged every shot. Wielding his dagger in a reverse grip, Tyler charged at Shadow and tried to decapitate him. Shadow teleported behind him and delivered a kick to the back of his head.

"Last warning, kid: Tell me where Eggman is." Shadow demanded. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Get away from my brother, you stinking bastard!" Jade said as she charged at Shadow to bludgeon him with his guns. Shadow teleported away and elbowed her in the face, knocking her to the ground. Shadow again sensed something coming at him and turned around to catch... a card? He looked to see Jacques sporting a grin.

"This the best you can do?" Shadow asked.

"Au contraire, mon frere." Jacques replied. " _This_ is the best I can do." He pressed a button on his wristwatch and the card in Shadow's hand exploded.

"Nice save, Jacques!" Tyler said as he and the rest of the squad ran to him. "No problem, Tyler!" Jacques replied. "My talent is almost frightening!"

"Well that's the end of that guy." Jade said. The Jackal Squad looked pretty pleased with their victory. But those smiles were soon replaced with looks of absolute panic when the smoke cleared. Shadow was not only unharmed, but was now glowing red. His face was one of annoyance and quiet rage.

"This can't be happening..." Tyler said as he and the squad backed away in fear.

"I warned you to stay out of my way." Shadow said. "You should've listened." Shadow began to glow brighter before unleashing a gigantic blast of red energy from his body.

"Xander! Get over here! We need-!" That's all Jade could get out before the connection cut.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: An Assassin's Pride pt 2. Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ After receiving a distress call from Jade, Zero rushes to the aid of his squad. Can he make it there in time? And will the Ultimate Mercenary be able to best the Ultimate Life Form? Find out on the next chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**


	6. Chapter 6: An Assassin's Pride!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ Another uneventful day in the Mystic Jungle is shattered when Shadow the Hedgehog invades the casino on a mission to find Eggman's hidden laboratory. Despite their best efforts, the Jackal Squad proved to be no match for the Ultimate Life Form, who easily swats them aside. Responding to his allies' distress call, Zero races through the jungle to aid his comrades.**

" _All it takes is just one really bad day to drive the sanest man alive to lunacy._ "

Joker, _The Killing Joke._

Eggman was busy conducting more tests on the Phantom Ruby when suddenly, the alarm blared throughout the laboratory. "What the devil's going on out there?" Eggman asked in annoyance. That's when Orbot and Cubot ran into the room. "Boss, there's an intruder in the jungle!" Cubot exclaimed.

Eggman turned on the security monitors and saw Shadow running through the jungle, leaving destroyed robots in his wake. "Shadow?! How the hell did he find my hidden base?!"

"Well a casino in a jungle isn't exactly subtle." Orbot said. That earned him a smack in the head from Eggman. "Can it!" Eggman hissed. "Where are the Jackal Squad?!"

"We tried contacting them, but they haven't responded!" Cubot said. "I guess Shadow got them!"

"Unbelievable." Eggman sighed. "I go out and hire the best mercenaries money can buy and they _still_ couldn't stop him?! Is there anyone left out there?!"

"Actually..." Orbot began. "According to some security feed, Zero was patrolling another area of the jungle when Shadow attacked."

"Well, I'll try to contact him." Eggman replied. "In the meantime, you two get Metal Sonic and start downloading all the data on the Phantom Ruby onto my personal computer. If worse comes to worst, we may have to evacuate."

"Yes sir!" the two robots shouted in unison.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

"Jade! Jade, come in!" Zero shouted as he raced through the jungle. He received a distress call from Jade. The panic in her voice told him everything he needed to know. He had tried several times to contact them, to no avail. "Tyler! Jack! Jacques, talk to me!" Zero yelled as he jumped through the tree tops. Still no response. " _I should've been there!_ " he thought to himself. " _I never should've left them alone!_ " Cursing under his breath, Zero continued to make his way through the jungle until he reached the front gates of the casino, which looked as if they were blown open by some tremendous blast. He ran inside the casino grounds...

...and the sight that awaited him was a scene out of his worst nightmares.

The casino looked like a warzone. Debris was everywhere and the place was riddled with burn marks, like it was caught in the epicenter of a devastating explosion. But even worse, the Jackal Squad was dead, their bodies strewn about like rag dolls. Some were horrifically burned by whatever caused that blast. The sight made him fall to his knees, dropping his sword on the ground.

"No..." he trailed off. At that moment, his canine ears heard the sound of someone moaning in pain. He ran over to the source of the sound, which was a pile of rubble. Zero frantically moved the rubble aside and found Jade. She was bleeding, badly burned, but miraculously still alive. " _Thank God._ " he thought. "Jade. Jade, wake up!" he tried to shake her awake.

Jade groaned as consciousness slowly returned to her. Coughing a few times, Jade slowly opened her eyes and found Zero standing over her. "X...Xan...?" she asked weakly.

Yeah, it's me." Zero replied, immensely relieved that she was okay. "What the hell happened here?" Wincing from the pain, Jade struggled to speak. "It was a... black hedgehog." she began. "Called himself Shadow... Fought like a demon. Like nothing I've ever seen before. We couldn't stop him." She turned away from him. "I'm sorry, Xan. We're a real sorry sight."

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Don't talk like that. You did your best." Zero said assuringly. "Just save your strength. I-I'll get you to the doc! He'll fix you up!" Jade gave a weak, mirthless chuckle in response. "Ah, Xan. You're a lot of things." she said. "But you ain't no comedian. And you're a horrible liar. I think we did enough hit jobs to know what a dead person looks like."

"No, no!" Zero pleaded, his voice cracking. "It can't end like this! I can't lose you!" Jade placed a hand on Zero's cheek. "Never thought I'd see you cry, Xan." she said. "It's kinda cute. I ain't got no regrets. My whole life with you has been one hell of an adventure. I'm just sad we... couldn't go on a few more. Thanks for everything, Xan. It's been... fun." With that, Jade closed her eyes and died in Zero's arms, the hand on his cheek falling limply to the side.

Zero hugged Jade's lifeless body close as he silently wept. This had to be some twisted nightmare. His comrades, his friends, his _family!_ All dead in a single day. All because he was too late to save them. So caught up in his grief was he that he didn't notice a small drone floated behind him with Eggman's face displayed on it's monitor. His expression was one of annoyance and rage. However, the gruesome sight of the corpses of the other members of the Jackal Squad and the sight of a grieving Zero made his features soften.

"You have my sympathies for your loss, Zero." Eggman said, the tone in his voice stern but sincere. "But I must remind you that you're still under my employ. If you still wish to be paid, then I suggest you stop Shadow!" Zero gently placed Jade on the ground and folded her arms over her chest. He then went to pick up her sword before turning to face Eggman. His eyes were filled with a mix of rage and determination.

"Don't worry. This one's free of charge." He said.

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

Fighting his way through thousands of robots, Shadow had managed to navigate the jungle and found a large metal door with a hatch on it. "This must be the entrance to the doctor's secret lab." Shadow said to himself. "Must be something valuable inside for the cannon fodder to fight so hard. So let's see what's behind Door Number One." Shadow grabbed the hatch and began to turn it, but was forced to cartwheel away to avoid several gunshots directed at him.

"Can't let you do that, Shadow." A voice said. Shadow turned behind him to see another jackal. This one was twirling a gun in one hand and held a red blade in the other. "Who are you?" Shadow asked.

"Name's Alexander Anubis. But everyone calls me Zero." Zero said.

"Alexander Anubis..." Shadow said. "I heard about you. You were a former G.U.N. agent."

"Hmph, my reputation precedes me." Zero chuckled. "Nice to meet a fellow G.U.N. agent."

"I heard you thrown out for insubordination." Shadow continued. "Turns out you had a habit of using excessive force."

"What can I say? I'm a trailblazer." Zero chuckled again.

"Well go blaze a new trail." Shadow said. "I'm busy."

"Afraid I can't do that, pal." Zero replied. "You see, I'm contractually obligated to keep this base safe. And, of course, there the fact that you killed my squad." At those last four words, Zero's voice lowered to a guttural snarl, his blue and gold eyes glaring daggers at the dark hedgehog. Shadow looked away for a moment, but quickly hardened his expression.

"Your squad chose their fate." Shadow replied. "Don't make their mistake."

"Bit too late for that, pal." Zero said, pointing his blade at Shadow. "You're about to learn why no one makes a fool out of the Jackal Squad. And you're about to learn why they call me the Ultimate Mercenary!" Zero charged at Shadow to impale him with his sword. Shadow teleported out of the way, reappeared behind Zero, and fired a few Chaos Spears.

Zero dodged the spears and leapt straight at Shadow with sword raised. Shadow blocked the sword with his rings and kicked Zero to the ground. Zero pulled out his twin handguns and opened fire on Shadow. Shadow dodged the bullets as he leapt over Zero to deliver a punishing axe kick. Using his guns, Zero blocked the kick and forced Shadow to backflip away. Zero charged at Shadow and wildly slashed away with his sword. Shadow dodged each of his strikes, but one actually managed to cut him on the cheek.

Shadow winced in pain and retaliated with another swift kick to the gut, knocking him away. Zero pulled out two kunai knives and charged at Shadow again. He tried to swipe at Shadow, but the hedgehog ducked and knocked Zero off his feet with a sweep kick. Stabilizing himself with a handstand, Zero swung at Shadow with his sword, which was held in his tail like a scorpion. Shadow teleported away once more and elbowed Zero, knocking him to the ground.

" _Damn it._ _What the hell_ is _this guy?!_ " he mentally cursed. " _I've fought tough customers before, but this bastard's on another level!_ "

"You fought well." Shadow said. "Now stand down. I don't want to have anymore blood on my hands."

"Like hell I will!" Zero defiantly shouted. "I surrender to _**NO ONE!**_ " Zero tossed a grenade at Shadow, but before the hedgehog could react, Zero took his gun and shot the grenade, causing it to explode in Shadow's face. Zero then leapt into the air and brought his sword down on Shadow.

Zero smiled, believing he had avenged his fallen comrades. The smile faded, however, as the smoke cleared, revealing an unharmed Shadow clasping the sword in between his hands while a red aura surrounded him.

"You actually made me fight seriously for a moment there." Shadow said. In one swift motion, Shadow snapped the blade in half while delivering a roundhouse kick that sent Zero flying into the air. Teleporting above him, Shadow delivered a two-fisted hammer punch that sent him crashing to the ground. Shadow teleported next to him and dealt another roundhouse kick that slammed him against the rock wall.

Zero struggled to get to his feet, only for Shadow to appear in front of him with his Shadow Rifle pointed at him. Most people in this position would cower in fear. Zero, however, remained defiant, glaring daggers at the black hedgehog. "Well? Get it over with!" he demanded.

Shadow didn't move, but continued to stare at Zero. "Come on! What are you waiting for?!" Zero asked again. Shadow continued to glare at the jackal, but eventually put his rifle away and began to walk towards the door. "Where the hell are you going?!" Zero demanded. "I'm not finished with you!"

"But I'm finished with you." Shadow retorted. "I have enough blood on my hands, and I've wasted too much time already. Take my advice: Go home." Zero glared at Shadow, seething with rage. When the hedgehog turned his back, Zero pulled out one of his guns and pointed it at Shadow. "No one talks to me that way, you bastard!" Before he could fire a shot, Shadow turned and fired a Chaos Spear at the gun, destroying it and causing shrapnel to fly right into his right eye.

Zero's hands flew to his eye as screamed in pain. "Last warning. Never show your pathetic face to me ever again." Shadow gabbed the handle on the door and yanked it off its hinges, tossing it aside. Shadow then walked into the laboratory. Zero attempted to chase after him, but a sharp pain in his side forced him to his knees.

As he sat there, his mind was still racing, attempting to process everything that happened. For the first time in his life, he **_failed_**. He failed the mission. He failed to save his squad. And worse, he failed to even _avenge_ them. The jackal looked to his hands and found them trembling. Was this... Was this what it was like to feel fear? It was such a foreign emotion to him. Then, he heard a voice. A voice he never wanted to hear again.

" _Look at you._ " the voice said, its tone gruff, harsh, and seething with contempt. Zero looked up to see what looked to be an older version of himself. He had a white beard, more worn features on his face, and wore a military uniform. The striking thing about him was that their was blood leaking from his throat, staining his brown uniform a bright shade of crimson. Zero knew all too well who this was. It was his father. Albert Anubis, still haunting him after all these years.

He was a former soldier in the army, and an abusive son of a bitch. He wanted Zero to follow in his footsteps and put him through rigorous training from the time he was four years old. Whenever he failed a training exercise, Albert would beat Zero severely, causing seeds of resentment to form within Zero. When Zero was kicked out of G.U.N, Albert flew into a rage and attacked Zero. When his mother tried to intervene, Albert knocked her aside, accidently killing her. That was the final straw. In a rage, Zero killed his father with his own family heirloom, the red sword called the Crimson Cleaver. Ever since then, he lived on his own, eventually forming his own mercenary squad.

" _You couldn't save your teammates_." the apparition continued. "You couldn't even avenge them. And you thought you could be better than me? Pathetic. You're no son of mine."

"Shut up..." he whispered.

" _Just a pathetic little maggot_."

" _ **SHUT UP!**_ " Zero screamed. His anguished, primal scream echoed through the jungle and into the night. He lost everything: The mission. His teammates...

...And above all, his pride.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Rise of Infinite. Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ Still reeling from the deaths of his squadmates, an enraged Zero confronts Eggman. But the good doctor offers him a chance to take his revenge on Shadow. What will Zero decide? Find out on the next exciting chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**

 **Author's note: Why did I start the chapter with a quote from _The Killing Joke_? I thought it fit the chapter, is all.**


	7. Chapter 7: Rise of Infinite!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ Shadow managed to infiltrate Eggman's jungle base, effortlessly defeating the Jackal Squad. Enraged by the deaths of his comrades, Zero attempted to confront Shadow. Despite the mercenary's best efforts, he proved to be no match for the Ultimate Life Form and was defeated as well. Now we witness the fallout of the battle. **

Shadow made his way through the corridors of the laboratory, which seemed to be leading him deep underground. The place was as quiet as a tomb. There wasn't a single robot in the facility. The silence had Shadow on edge. Eventually, he reached an elevator and rode it all the way to the heart of the laboratory. When he stepped out of the elevator, however, he was "greeted" by a blast of lightning that knocked him to the ground.

Shadow looked up to see Metal Sonic near the computer. Cable wires extended from his right hand were downloading data from the computer. "You're too slow." Metal said, withdrawing the cables into his hand. Shadow charged at Metal with a Spin Dash, but the robotic hedgehog teleported away before the hit connected.

"Right, Metal can copy the powers of others." Shadow remarked. "And he has my Chaos Control. Great." Shadow pressed a button on his wrist communicator. "Patch me to HQ." he said.

" _What is it, Shadow?_ " A voice responded. The voice belonged to Commander Abraham Tower, highest ranking commander in G.U.N.

"The lab's been evacuated." Shadow said. "And all the data's been downloaded from the computer."

" _Damn_." Tower replied. " _Oh well. Let's make sure Eggman can't use this lab ever again. Torch the place and return to base_."

"Acknowledged." Shadow replied. "Time to go to work."

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, at the Arsenal Pyramid...**_

"So hard to find good help these days." Eggman mused as he watched the security footage of Shadow's fight with the Jackal Squad. "Still, I can't be too surprised. He is my grandfather's greatest creation." Eggman pulled out a portrait of Gerald C. Robotnik, his grandfather. "Oh Gerald, if only you could see him now. You'd be so proud."

Eggman's moment of reminiscing was rudely interrupted by the sound of the door being violently swung open. " _ **EGGMAN!**_ " a voice shouted. Sighing, Eggman turned to face his unwanted guest. Before he could react, however, he was yanked out of his seat and pulled to the ground. Eggman looked to see a furious Zero pointing a gun at his nose. His missing right eye was covered in bandages.

"Is something the matter?" Eggman asked coyly.

"I lost good men and women on that team because of you." Zero seethed. "Now you're gonna pay me what I'm owed or I'll scramble that rotten egg you call a brain all over this goddamn room! 1! 2!" Before Zero could say anymore, the sound of guns cocking filled the room. The jackal looked to see both him and Eggman surrounded by Egg Pawns, all of whom had their guns pointed at him.

"You're welcome to try, my friend." Eggman said. "But I can't guarantee that both of us will leave this room alive." For the longest time, Zero and Eggman glared at each other with an audience of Egg Pawns surrounding them. They were all waiting for someone to make the first move. Eventually Zero withdrew his weapon and got off Eggman. In response, the Egg Pawns withdrew their guns as well.

"Good to know the cloaking devices on these things work." Eggman said as he dismissed his Egg Pawns. "Thanks for the impromptu test." The Egg Pawns exited the room, leaving Eggman and Zero alone. "I just want to know, what the hell were we fighting back there?!" Zero asked. "I never seen anything like that guy!"

"His name is Shadow." Eggman said. "He's a member of G.U.N and the end result of a project designed to create the Ultimate Life Form."

"So he's basically Frankenstein's monster." Zero remarked. "Why the hell didn't you warn us we'd be fighting some superpowered freak of nature?!"

"Well I certainly didn't expect Shadow to show up at my doorstep!" Eggman retorted. "I'm a scientist, not a fortune teller!"

"Doesn't matter, I'll find the bastard!" Zero declared. "He'll pay for killing my squad! Doesn't matter what kind of magic tricks he's got! He'll die all the same!"

At that, Eggman gave a knowing smirk. "About that..." he began. "I've been reviewing the security footage of your fight with Shadow." Eggman activated the security feed. "By all accounts, you two seemed evenly matched. It wasn't until Shadow began using his Chaos Powers."

"And your point?" Zero asked in irritation.

"My point is that I think I can help you." Eggman replied.

"I don't need any help, doc." Zero snapped. "I can handle this myself!"

"You mean like last time?" Eggman sarcastically asked. Zero snarled in response. "Don't be a fool! You know you're no match for him as you are! I'm not here to fight your battles, I just want to help even the playing field. Unless, of course, you're afraid."

At that last word, Zero visibly flinched, clenching his fists. Already, he could hear the voice of his bastard father mocking him for even considering the idea of seeking aid from others. In his view, you need only rely on yourself. But then came the images. He could see them as clear as day, his comrades lying dead on the ground. The images continued to flash about in his mind, overwhelming him.

"What do I gotta do?" he asked coldly.

Eggman's smile grew wider at that.

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

"So this is Project Phantom?" Zero asked. The jackal was strapped to an operating table while Eggman was at the computer. "Indeed." Eggman said. "After countless experiments, I've theorized that the Phantom Ruby can be used not just as an energy source for machinery, but as a means of empowering _people_. And after watching your fight with Shadow, I think you might be the perfect test subject."

"So you basically wanna turn me into some kind of super soldier, right?" Zero asked.

"To put it crudely, yes." Eggman replied. "Now, I must warn you-"

"There's a good chance I may not survive the procedure and if I want to back out, now's the time." Zero interrupted.

Eggman blinked a few times in surprise, clearly not expecting him to catch on so quickly. "That and I was going to tell you that the Phantom Ruby will be permanently bonded to you once the process is complete. But it seems you're already aware of the dangers, so we'll begin the procedure."

Eggman typed a command in the computer and a gas mask lowered itself down. "Begin inducing anesthesia."

"No!" came Zero's sharp reply, startling Eggman a bit. "I want to see it happen."

"Are you _certain?_ " Eggman asked, incredulous. "The process will be quite long and without anesthesia, it will be quite... painful."

"Let me tell you something about pain, doc." Zero began. "Pain and I are old friends. I was captured by enemy soldiers while on a job in Shamar. For a whole week, the bastards tortured me, did everything they could to get me to talk. But I never broke. Point is, there's nothing you can do to me that hasn't been done already."

"I see your point." Eggman replied. "Very well. Beginning procedure." Eggman typed another command and the gas mask receded. In its place was a mechanical claw that held the Phantom Ruby. Only it was shaped differently than Zero remembered. Instead was being round, it was now shaped like a triangle. As the gemstone descended, Zero stared defiantly, as if telling it to give him its worst. Inside, Zero was praying that his deceased comrades would give him the will to survive this and that if he did, he would have the strength to finally avenge them.

The ruby finally reached his chest as more mechanical arms equipped with surgical instruments descended on Zero...

...Outside the lab, Orbot and Cubot were cleaning up Eggman's office when they heard the most horrendous screams coming from the lab, startling them both. The two robots looked at each other and decided to continue about their work, doing their best to ignore the tortuous screams.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Power In Pain. On the next chapter of _Sonic Forces!_ Zero, now bonded to the Phantom Ruby and given the new name "Infinite", undergoes rigorous training to help him better control the gemstones incredible power. Will he pass with flying colors? Or will he end up getting schooled? Find out on the next exciting chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**

 **Author's Note: Short chapter, huh? Well I figured adding the training session would make the chapter a bit too long. That's the next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8: Power in Pain!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ A grieving and furious Zero confronts Eggman over the loss of his squadmates. However, the mad doctor offers the mercenary a way to take his revenge against Shadow: to be permanently bonded with the Phantom Ruby and be imbued with its power. Desperate, Zero agreed and underwent a torturous procedure. Now Zero awakens, more powerful than before.**

"Zero? Zero, can you hear me?" Eggman asked. The process took six agonizing hours. The pain was intense. So intense, in fact, that Zero eventually passed out from the pain. Eggman frantically tried to wake him up, worried that he might actually be dead. Zero, respond!" Eggman shouted. Zero groaned as he slowly regained consciousness.

"Must have been one hell of a stag party." he mumbled. When he opened his eyes, things got... weird. Everything looked purple. Doc? What the hell's going on?" Zero asked. "Why does everything look weird?" Eggman handed Zero a mirror. When he looked at his reflection, he was shocked by what he saw: The sclera in his left eye was red, but his missing right eye was a swirling mass of violet.

"What's going on?!" Zero asked.

"Must be a side effect of the Phantom Ruby." Eggman said, pointing to the ruby on Zero's chest. "How are you feeling?"

"My chest hurts." Zero replied.

"Understandable, given that you just went through a six hour surgical operation without anesthesia." Eggman retorted. "It's a miracle you're still alive." At that moment, Orbot and Cubot entered the room. "Congrats on not kicking the bucket during your surgery, Zero!" Cubot said.

"Indeed, that was very brave of you to endure that." Orbot said. "So to celebrate, Cubot and I made you this! Ta-da!" Orbot pulled out a silver helmet shaped to resemble the head of a jackal. The ears of the helmet had white and black circular patterns on the inside, with the right ear being black with white circular patterns and the left being white with black circular patterns. The left eye of the helmet was a red visor while the right eye was a black piece designed to resemble a lightning bolt that was connected to the right ear.

Zero stared at the helmet with a raised eyebrow. "And _why_ the hell do I need a helmet?" he asked.

"Because it looks badass, duh!" Cubot exclaimed. "Makes you look edgy!" Zero rolled his eyes and reluctantly put on the helmet. And it immediately began sliding off his face. "It's a little big." he said as he pushed the helmet up with his two fingers.

"It seems I was slightly off in my measurements." Cubot replied. "Don't worry, though, I'm sure you'll grow into it with enough time."

"Right..." Zero turned to Eggman. "How do you put up with these idiots?" he whispered.

"Tea. Lots and lots of tea." Eggman replied. "Now, if we're all done playing dress up, follow me." Eggman walked out of the room with Zero and the two robots following close behind. The quartet took an elevator down to the lower levels of the pyramid. "So where we heading, Doc?" Zero asked.

"To the training room." Eggman replied. "I need to test your new abilities."

"Well I could use the exercise." Zero replied. The group reached their destination: A small room with a computer terminal. Orbot and Cubot went to the terminal and began booting it up. The door opened up to a larger room, one that was pure white and decorated with red lines. "Please enter the training ground." Orbot said.

Zero walked through the door and entered the training room. " _In this little exercise, you'll be up against a few of my Egg Fighters_." Eggman's voice came through on the loudspeaker. " _Destroy them however you see_ _fit_."

"But I don't have my weapons!" Zero protested.

" _There's a weapon fused to your chest._ " Eggman replied. " _I think you'll do fine_." Several slots opened on the wall and three Egg Fighters walked into the room. One was unarmed, another was armed with a chainsaw sword, and another was colored black and armed with twin guns for hands.

The unarmed Egg Fighter charged at Zero and tried to land a punch. On instinct, Zero grabbed the punch with a single hand. The Egg Fighter struggled to escape Zero's vice-like grip. Zero himself stared in amazement, almost ignoring the struggling robot. " _Damn_." Zero thought to himself. " _I work out a lot, but I never knew I was this strong. I wonder just how strong I am now_."

Zero gripped the Egg Fighter's fist tighter, crushing its hand like a beer can before yanking it off with one clean twist. "Whoa!" Zero exclaimed. The Egg Fighter charged at Zero again, only for the former mercenary to throw its arm like a makeshift javelin, impaling the Egg Fighter and destroying it in one swift blow.

"Damn..." he trailed off. The sword Egg Fighter attempted to slash at Zero while he was distracted. With blinding speed, Zero dodged the sword and it hit the ground. " _I'm faster, too_." he thought. Zero dashed towards the Egg Fighter only for the robot to raise its electrified shield. Zero yelled as the electricity seared his body, stunning him long enough for the Egg Fighter to kick him to the ground.

The Egg Fighter leapt into the air and brought its sword down on Zero. Zero held out his hand to defend himself and something extraordinary happened. The Phantom Ruby on his chest began glowing and in a flash of red cubes, Zero's sword, the Crimson Cleaver, materialized in his hand and blocked the Egg Fighter's sword.

"How the-?!" Zero asked. He had no time to dwell on it as the Egg Fighter prepared to attack him again. Zero quickly rose to his feet and in one fluid motion, sliced the Egg Fighter clean in two. The Egg Shooter opened fire on Zero. Zero charged at the robot while spinning his sword in front of him to deflect the machine's shots. He leapt into the air and impaled the Egg Fighter in the head.

In the other room, Eggman and the two robots watched Zero face off against the Egg Fighters. Eggman was wearing the most pleased smirk on his face. " _Enhanced strength, enhanced reflexes, and matter manipulation_." he thought. " _Very intriguing. I wonder what other abilities he has. Let's find out_."

"Don't get too comfortable, Zero." Eggman spoke through the loudspeaker. "That was merely round one. Round Two is on the way!" Orbot typed a command in the computer and more slots opened on the wall. A small round, gold robot equipped with a pair of jet packs flew into the room. It was an Aero Chaser. The Aero Chaser was soon flanked by Aero Cannons, smaller robots designed to resemble shotguns.

The Aero Chaser made the first move, unleashing twin laser beams from its arms. Zero jumped into the air to avoid them... and didn't jump back down. Zero was shocked to find himself literally floating in midair. "I.. I can _fly?!_ " he asked. There wasn't much time to think about it as The Aero Chaser launched a salvo of missiles at him. Zero weaved through the air to avoid the missiles, and charged at the Aero Chaser to impale it with his blade.

The Aero Chaser charged up energy in its optics and fired another laser that knocked him to the ground. Zero got to his feet, but was quickly surrounded by the Aero Cannons, who formed a circular firing squad around him and opened fire. Zero huddled himself in a futile effort to defend. That's when the Phantom Ruby began to glow once again. This time, a dome composed of crimson red cubes surrounded Zero, protecting him from the Aero Cannons. The Aero Cannons and the Aero Chaser continued to bombard the protective shell with their energy bullets and missiles.

" _Damn thing's full of surprises_." Zero thought. " _I wonder_..." The ruby began glowing brighter as Zero concentrated hard. With a furious yell, Zero spread his arms out, sending the energy cubes flying out in different directions and destroying the Aero Cannons. The Aero Chaser fired its energy beams, but Zero outstretched his hand and a wall of red cubes materialized in front of him, protecting him from the beams.

By mental command, the red cubes turned into a tidal wave and splashed on top of the Aero Chaser, crushing it. " _A fine display!_ " Eggman said. " _But now we come to the final round!_ " This time, a single slot opened in the wall. Walking out of it was Metal Sonic in his Neo form.

"I believe you've met Metal Sonic, yes?" Eggman asked. " _He'll be your final opponent. Begin!_ " Zero conjured several orbs composed of red cubes and hurled them at Metal. Metal folded his arms and summoned his Black Shield, causing the orbs to harmlessly bounce off. Metal then charged at Zero, delivering a kick to his stomach. Zero blocked the kick, grabbed Metal's leg and threw him against the wall.

Zero then followed up with several rapid punches. Metal Sonic, however, was barely fazed by the assault and began charging his Plasma Pulse Attack, firing a laser from his chest that blasted Zero away. Zero summoned his sword and dived towards Metal, spinning like a buzzsaw.

Metal scoffed and performed Shadow's Chaos Control, teleporting away at the last second and reappearing right next to him to fire a blast of electricity. Before Zero hit the wall, Metal teleported and kicked him into the ceiling. Metal then followed up with a two-fisted hammer strike that sent Zero crashing to the ground. Zero struggled to get to his feet, only for Metal to stomp on his back with both feet. Zero screamed in pain as he felt his body crushed under Metal's weight.

"Pathetic." Metal sneered. " _You're_ supposed to be the doctor's greatest weapon? No wonder your teammates died so easily." That caused Zero's eye to widen. Metal's stinging words brought back memories of that horrible night. As his mind dwelled on that night. The Phantom Ruby began glowing.

"If they were led by a weakling like yourself, then their deaths were a mercy." That was the last straw. A crimson red aura surrounded Zero and with a furious roar, he unleashed a burst of crimson energy that sent Metal flying off him. Zero rose out of the newly-formed crater, surrounded by an aura composed of dark crimson flames and red glitches. His body and helmet were pitch black.

"Egad! What's happening?!" Eggman asked.

"The Phantom Ruby's energy is spiking dramatically!" Orbot shouted as he and Cubot attempted to analyze the ruby's surge in power. Their attempts were in vain as all the computer picked up was red static.

Metal Sonic dropped into a battle stance, ready to continue their fight. Zero charged at Metal with blinding speed and delivered a solid punch on Metal's face, putting a dent in his armor and sending him flying across the room. He teleported next to him and landed a powerful uppercut that sent him flying towards the ceiling. Zero then created a portal and dived through it.

Creating more portals, Zero dived through each one, striking Metal with each pass. On the final pass, Zero gathered crimson energy in his hands and fired blast at pointblank range, heavily damaging Metal Sonic and sending him crashing to the ground. Zero teleported next to Metal, summoned his sword, and prepared to land the final blow.

" _That's it, kill him_." A voice said. That made Zero pause. It wasn't Eggman on the monitor. The voice was coming from in his head. "Who said that?" Zero asked. Taking advantage of the distraction, Metal mustered the last of his strength and fired another Plasma Pulse Attack, sending Zero flying. With that, Metal Sonic shut down.

"That's enough!" Eggman shouted. Zero got to his feet and walked out of the training room. "That was a superb display!" Eggman said. "You still need some practice to fully adjust to the Phantom Ruby, but this was a great trial run."

"Right..." Zero replied. His mind was on other things than his performance. "Doc? Did you hear a... voice?"

"What voice?" Eggman asked.

"Never mind." Zero replied. " _Maybe it was all in my head._ " Zero's thoughts were interrupted when he felt the ruby glow once again.

"What's going on?" Eggman asked.

"I dunno." Zero replied. The ruby seemed to be... beckoning him to something. Zero walked towards the computer and the ruby began glowing brighter. That's when things got... weird. Streams of data erupted from the computer monitor and were absorbed by the ruby.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Eggman shouted. "Those are my personal files! You have no right to download those!"

"It's not me!" Zero protested. "The damn rock's got a mind of its own!" The ruby finished absorbing the data and started glowing. A mass of red cubes appeared in the center of the room and they quickly coalesced into a new shape: the shape of Shadow the Hedgehog. "What the hell?" Zero asked.

"My word..." Eggman said in astonishment, examining every part of the Shadow replica. "The Phantom Ruby downloaded my personal files and used the data to create an exact replica of Shadow! Amazing! I bet it can create replicas of virtually anyone! Extrodinary! I must do more research!" Eggman hurriedly ran out of the room with Orbot and Cubot following close behind.

Now alone, Zero stared at the Shadow replica as an idea formed in his head...

* * *

 _ **Later that night...**_

Zero was back in the training room with the fifth Shadow replica. He had been using them as training dummies. Which each one he defeated, he could feel his skills with the Phantom Ruby improving. The room was a pretty big mess by now. " _Just you wait, Shadow_." he thought as he prepared to fight.

" _We'll see who's truly the Ultimate Life Form_."

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Birth of the Resistance! Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ Knuckles, Silver, and Gold gather their friends and allies to discuss the looming crisis and how best to combat it, unaware that there's a spy watching the meeting...**


	9. Chapter 9: Birth of the Resistance!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ After undergoing a tortuous procedure, Zero successfully bonded with the Phantom Ruby and went through a rigorous training process. Now our tale brings us to our heroes forming a meeting on how best to counter the growing crisis. Find out, now!**

 **Author's Note: A few special guests make their appearance in this chapter.**

" _How sad. It used to be so beautiful._ " Sonic thought as he ran through what _used_ _to be_ the Green Hill Zone. Eggman recently set up a base of operations here, resulting in heavy desertification. While Sonic has been able to disrupt the doctor's operations here, he hasn't been able to stem the tide of ruination sweeping across the Zone. For an avid nature lover like Sonic, the sight of an iconic place reduced to a desert wasteland was beyond heartbreaking.

As Sonic made his way through the desert, he was greeted by the sight of a massive sandworm not unlike the ones he encountered during his adventure on the Lost Hex. "Man, look at the size of that thing!" Sonic exclaimed. "Guess all kinds of things move in when your neighborhood turns into a desert. Clean up's gonna be a chore."

He continued running through the desert plains when he saw something flying in the air. The object flew closer and closer to him and was revealed to be the Tornado, Sonic's old plane. And piloting it was none other than his best friend, Miles "Tails" Prower. Or Tails, for short.

"There you are, Sonic!" Tails said as he flew next to him. "Been looking everywhere for you!"

"Yo, Tails!" Sonic greeted. "What brings you to this neck of the desert?"

"Been looking for you." Tails replied. "Knuckles and Silver are setting up a meeting in Sunset Heights with all our friends. Silver said it's really important."

"What, are they getting married?" Sonic jokingly asked.

"Sonic! Be serious!" Tails said. "You know everytime Silver comes back from the future, something bad is going to happen."

"He is a bit of a bad luck magnet, huh?" Sonic joked. That earned him a flat look from Tails, who was clearly not amused by the joke. "Alright, alright! I was joking! No need to get your panties in a twist. Anyway, race you to the city!" Before Tails could reply, Sonic used his Boost technique and sped away.

"Always on the move..." Tails said as he flew towards the city.

* * *

 _ **In Sunset Heights...**_

Ah, beautiful Sunset Heights. If you were to look up the term "idyllic community", you would likely see a picture of Sunset Heights, a quaint little city not too far from the iconic Green Hill Zone. The city was so named for its breathtaking sunset, which made it quite the popular tourist attraction. Today, however, there was a tourist who wasn't here for the sights.

Flying through the city was a small doll crafted in the likeness of Tails. The doll was outfitted with an antenna on its forehead. Don't be fooled, however. This was no ordinary doll, but it was actually another of Dr. Eggman's vile machines. The doll moved among the crowd of people, doing its best to remain undetected. It had been wandering the city for days now and seemed to be searching for something...

...And it certainly found something.

The doll spotted Sonic and Tails walking into an abandoned building. The doll flew to the upper window and found an incredible sight: All of Sonic's friends and allies in one place! This was extraordinary! Everyone was here! Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Amy, Big, Cream, Espio, Charmy, Vector, Blaze, Marine, Silver, Mighty, _and_ Ray! They even had the Babylon Rouges and Team Hooligan as well as some of the residents in the city!

The doll activated its recording program. Now everything it was seeing was being transferred to Eggman. It fired a laser from its antenna, cutting a hole in the window large enough for it to fly through. It flew into the building and sat on the upper floor, away enough from prying eyes and close enough to listen in on their conversation.

"Sonic! You made it!" Amy cheered as she ran over and embraced Sonic.

"Hey Amy. Glad to see you too." Sonic said as he looked around. "Gang's all here, huh? Even brought _you_ here, Shadow?"

"Rouge brought me here." Shadow corrected him. "I wouldn't have come here otherwise."

"I CONCUR." Omega chimed in. "HANGING AROUND WITH THESE MEATBAGS IS NONPRODUCTIVE."

"Still a ray of sunshine, I see." Sonic said. He then looked to see Mighty and Ray sitting in one of the rows. "Yo guys! It's been ages since I've seen you two! How's tricks!"

"Hey, Sonic!" Mighty greeted.

"Been a while!" Ray greeted.

Marine the Raccoon walked up and shook Sonic's hand. "G'day, Sonic! Been a long time!"

"Hey, Marine!" Sonic said. "Still getting into trouble?"

"Not all the time!" Marine protested.

"Just _half_ the time." Blaze said.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, mate!" Marine said. The greetings and conversations were interrupted by the sound of clapping. Everyone turned to see Knuckles, Silver, and Gold standing next to each other in front of the chairs. "Okay, everyone, settle down!" Knuckles said. "Let's get this meeting underway." He waited until everyone took their seats before he continued talking.

"I want to thank you all for coming." Knuckles went on. "I'm sure you all want to know why we called you here, but I can promise you we wouldn't have called you if it wasn't important. Now, Silver has something to say."

Silver stepped up. "Hello, everyone." he began. "As most of you probably know, I'm from the future. And as much as I hate that everytime I come here, I bring nothing but bad news, I'm afraid this time's no different. And rather than waste time explaining it to you, I think it's easier if we show you. Gold?"

"Hi everyone." Gold said. "I apologize in advance, but... try not to freak out." Gold closed her eyes and was surrounded in golden psychic energy as the symbol on her forehead began to glow. The room around everyone melted away, revealing a large black void amidst the backdrop of a blood red sky. The group found themselves in a futuristic city that was being absorbed into the giant void, which seemed to grow as the city vanished.

Everyone watched in horror as entire buildings dissolved into nothingness. And not just buildings, either. People everywhere were vanishing, dissolving into red cubes. Worse still, monsters were running amok through the city. They were hideous creatures of all shapes and sizes. Many of them were muscular brutes that were as black as night. They had the heads of jackals that were silver in color and had mouths full of razor-sharp teeth. Some of them had four arms. Some of them were flying serpents with wings.

Some of the younger members covered their eyes and cowered behind Big. Everyone else looked on with complete fear written on their expressions. The only ones who didn't seem unnerved by the scene were Shadow, Omega, and Espio. "Okay, Gold. That's enough." Silver said. The psychic aura around gold faded away and the vision disappeared, returning the room to normal.

"Well _that_ was one hell of an acid trip!" Sonic exclaimed, always one to try to lighten the mood with some levity.

"There you have it." Silver said. "Something happens in this time period that results in what you just saw. And if I don't find the cause and stop it, there won't be a future for me or anyone!"

That's when Fang the Sniper (real name Nack the Weasel) raised his hand and spoke up. "Not to be rude, but how the hell do we know you're not making all this up?"

"He's not making this up, Fang." Knuckles replied. "I can personally vouch for that. When Silver and Gold came to Angel Island, something weird happened. Somehow we all got transported to Pachacamac's village in the past! Then we ended up fighting Chaos, but after we beat him, everything went back to normal like it never even happened! I don't know what it all means, but I think something big is going to happen."

"Then this wasn't a coincidence, after all." Blaze spoke up, causing everyone to turn and look at her. "Back in the Sol Dimension, when I was asleep, the Sol Emeralds came to me in a dream. They showed me visions of a world destroyed. I took this as a warning of a great threat that would engulf this world as well as my own."

"Did the emeralds ever say what this great threat was?" Rouge asked.

"Unfortunately, the Sol Emeralds aren't the most chatty." Blaze replied. "Nor are they specific. So Marine and I came here to find the source of the threat and destroy it."

"Okay, this whole thing has Eggman written all over it." Sonic said.

"But we haven't seen Eggman since that fiasco at the Lost Hex." Tails said. "We don't know for sure he's behind all this."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, foxy." Rouge said. "Shadow?" Everyone turned to llook at Shadow, who sighed in annoyance at being put on the spot. "Two months ago I was on a mission to investigate Dr. Eggman's base of operations in Mystic Jungle. I managed to find the laboratory, but the doctor downloaded all his data, so we don't know what he was doing there."

If we could find Eggman's other bases, we could figure out what he's planning." Rouge said.

"Want a secret base?" Sonic asked. "Try the one in Green Hill Zone. It's really been messing with the landscape there."

"Green Hill Zone?" Shadow asked. "GUN's been searching that place for weeks and hadn't found anything!"

"That's because he had it cloaked." Sonic replied. "Key word: _had_. I smashed his stealth generator earlier today. Ol' Baldy's probably scrambling to fix it."

"Well that's good to know." Rouge said. "Thanks for the tip, Big Blue!"

"EGGMAN'S BASE HAS BEEN LOCATED!" Omega exclaimed, transforming his hands into machine guns. "RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE DESTRUCTION!"

"Typical Omega. Shoot first, ask questions never." Rouge said.

"Hold up, Omega!" Vector said. "We don't even know what Eggman's planning, assuming he's planning anything! We need to investigate this thoroughly."

"INVESTIGATIONS ARE FOR WEAKLINGS!" the E-Series robot declared. "ACTION IS REQUIRED AND-!" Omega cut himself off as his sensors detected something. "ALERT! EGGMAN'S ROBOTS DETECTED! INITIATING COMBAT MODE!"

"Okay, now you're just being paranoid." Jet the Hawk said.

"No, he's right." Espio the Chameleon replied. "I sense we have an unwanted visitor... there!" In one fluid motion, Espio drew his kunai and threw it at the Tails Doll just at it attempted to fly away, impaling the robot and causing it to fall to the ground and short circuit. Everyone gathered around the fallen doll. "Nice shot, Espio!" Vector said.

"I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Sonic gets Metal Sonic. I get **_that?!_** " Tails complained.

"Seems we have an eavesdropper." Sonic said as he stepped on the doll's control gem. "Guess the doctor knows what we're up to."

"If Eggman's been spying on us, he may be planning to attack the city!" Knuckles said. "We need to be ready!"

"Knuckles, you're talking about preparing for war!" Blaze said. "War requires soldiers, training, weapons! Where are we going to find any of that on such short notice?"

"Well, with Yacker's help, I've been working on a secret project involving Wisps." Tails said. "I could use some extra help though."

"Count me in." Wave the Swallow said. "I've always wanted to study those Wisps and try to apply them to Extreme Gear technology. This should be enlightening."

"Mighty, Knuckles, and I can train people to fight." Espio said. "Always wanted to open a school for ninjitsu."

"And Sonic and I can gather recruits!" Amy said, grabbing Sonic's arm. Sonic rolled his eyes in response. "What she said." Sonic replied.

"We can help too!" Marine said with Big and Cream standing next to her.

"This whole thing sounds scary, but I'll help in anyway I can!" Cream declared!

"Well, Knuckles, guess you got your army." Sonic said. Shadow began to walk out the door with Rouge and Omega following close behind. "Where you going, Shadow?" Silver asked. "We could use you!"

"Sorry, but I'm not much of a team player." Shadow replied. "Besides, we need to report this intel to GUN."

"Don't worry." Rouge said. "We'll be there to help when you need us."

"AND YOU WILL NEED US." Omega said as the three of them walked out the door.

"Well _that_ was awkward." Jet said.

"Ah, let them go." Knuckles said. "Not much we can do to change their minds. Besides, we've got work to do. Let's get to it!"

"Right!" everyone replied in unison.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, at the Arsenal Pyramid...**_

Eggman had been watching the live feed sent by the Tails Doll. It had managed to record a conversation with Sonic and his friends. Unfortunately a large chunk of the feed was obscured by static. And then the feed cut out entirely. But from what he got out of it, it appeared that they were still in the dark about his true plans. Either way, that they are aware of his plans was still unnerving

"Seems I must step up my timetable." Eggman mused, adjusting his glasses by the bridge.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Looming Shadow. Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ A recon mission on Eggman's Arsenal Pyramid goes horribly wrong, putting Omega in mortal danger! Shadow rushes to the aid of his robotic comrade and comes face to face with a ghost from his past. Will our heroes survive this ordeal? Find out on the next exciting episode of _Sonic Forces!_**

 **Author's Note: I had planned to introduce a new character this chapter, but I felt it would make the chapter too long. He might show up when I novelize the main game.**


	10. Chapter 10: A Looming Shadow!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ Knuckles, Silver, and Gold gathered their allies to warn them about the looming threat. The meeting took a turn, however, when they discovered that Eggman had been spying on them via the Tails Doll. Worried that Eggman may launch an attack on the city, the heroes decided to prepare for the coming invasion. Meanwhile, Team Dark reported to GUN about new Intel regarding Eggman's base in Green Hill Zone. Witness the fallout, now!**

It had been two weeks since Shadow attended Knuckles and Silver's little group therapy session. The rest of the group decided to fortify Sunset Heights in case Eggman attempted to invade. Shadow and Team Dark, however, reported to GUN about the location of Eggman's base in Green Hill Zone. Besides, Shadow was never much of a team player anyway.

Today, Shadow had been riding his Dark Rider motorcycle through the desert ruins of what used to be the Green Hill Zone. Sometimes a quiet ride through the country is exactly what one needed to clear their head. Of course, the only thing that could ruin this would be a call from Rouge. And sure enough, his wrist communicator began beeping.

Sighing in annoyance, Shadow parked his bike and pressed the button to speak. "What is it, Rouge?" he asked.

" _Shadow, We've got a report from the intelligence division_." Rouge replied. " _They've located an unknown base of operations, that seems to be totally outside the chain of command for Eggman's Army. There's a large-scale troop presence. Suspiciously large for a place with no strategic value. Seems Sonic was right, after all._ "

"Just don't tell him that." Shadow said. "That idiot already has a big enough ego. Also, I can't imagine the doctor would do something like that without reason."

"No kidding." Rouge replied. " _Also, there's a rumor going around that ol' rotten Eggman has been developing some kind of new weapon. But everyone is busy on other missions, so..."_

"...It's up to us to investigate." Shadow said. "But something tells me this won't be your garden-variety recon mission."

" _Do it to it, Shadow._ " Rouge said. " _Omega went on ahead of you, so you can link up with him on-site_."

"I'm more than enough on my own." Shadow said. "I can handle this myself."

Rouge giggled. " _Omega said the same thing. You certainly think alike_."

"Cut the chatter." Shadow said sternly. "I'm on my way." Shadow turned off the communicator and thought to himself. " _Rouge made a big mistake sending Omega on this mission. Better get over there before it turns into an absolute shitstorm_." With that, Shadow activated Omega's homing beacon and drove off in the signal's direction.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, at the Arsenal Pyramid...**_

The calm around Eggman's base was ripped asunder by a thunderous explosion at the front door. Before the Egg Pawns guarding the entrance could react, they were swiftly gunned down by the intruder. The figure emerged out of the billowing smoke and was revealed to be E-123 Omega. Technically, this is supposed to be a recon mission. However, Omega has a _very_ loose interpretation of the word "recon" and a very virulent hatred of the doctor.

And when those two facets of his personality clash... things like this tend to happen.

More Egg Pawns came rushing at Omega, but one by one, their ranks were culled by Omega's machine guns. One Egg Pawn charged at Omega from his right only to be crushed by Omega's iron grip. Omega then proceeded to use the poor robot as a makeshift hammer, bludgeoning the other Egg Pawns.

" _This is a reconnaissance mission, Omega! Stealth!_ " Rouge's voice spoke through the communicator. " _We have no idea what kind of weapons Eggman has hidden in there!_ "

"THERE IS NO RISK." Omega replied. "ALL EGGMAN MACHINES WILL BE ELIMINATED!"

Rouge let out an irritated sigh. " _Shadow will join you shortly just_... _**try**_ _not to cause any more problems until then_."

"I AM MORE THAN SUFFICIENT ON MY OWN!" Omega declared. "INITIATING MISSION." Omega blasted the door open with a missile and ran inside. Rouge gave another annoyed sigh. " _He's freaking hopeless._ " she said.

Deep in the heart of the base, the alarm blared through the laboratory. It appears we are under attack, boss." Orbot said.

"Brilliant deduction, Sherlock!" came Eggman's sarcastic reply. He brought up the security monitor and saw Omega rampaging through the base. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Omega." Eggman smirked. "So, the prodigal son returns, eh? Then it's only fair to give him a proper greeting." Eggman snapped his fingers. "Zero! Front and center!" he commanded. It's time to put your new powers to the test!"

Out from behind one of the test tubes came Zero. The jackal was wearing his helmet and the Phantom Ruby was on his chest. Upon seeing Omega on the monitor, the Phantom Ruby began to glow and a glitching, crimson aura surrounded Zero as he rose into the air. "Heh. I love entertaining guests." he said as he teleported away.

Above ground, Omega continued to make his way through the base, leaving a trail of destroyed robots in his wake. He decided to contact Rouge to give a status update. "E-123 OMEGA HERE. EXTERMINATION PROCEEDING WITHOUT INCIDENT. NO PROBLEMS TO REPORT."

" _ **Extermination?!**_ " Rouge exclaimed, aghast. " _This is supposed to be a **recon**_ _mission! You can't go making a big scene!_ "

" _You should've known better than to send Omega on an OP like this_." scolded Shadow, who was listening in on the whole conversation.

" _Just shut up and get over there before buckethead commits a war crime!_ " Rouge snapped.

" _On my way._ " Shadow chuckled. Omega turned off his communicator and continued his trek through the base. He didn't get very far, however, as he was stopped by a strange creature. Unlike the rest of the enemy units, this being was organic. The creature had black fur and wore matching black gloves and boots. It had a bushy tail like a fox and wore a fox-shaped mask that concealed its face save for a glowing left eye that had a gold pupil and red sclera. However, the dreadlocks made it hard to pin down exactly what species it was. The creature's most noticeable feature was the ruby gemstone on its chest.

The being floated in front of Omega like a hanged man, surrounded by a glitching aura of crimson flames. Omega tried scanning the creature, but his scanners were scrambled by the energy it was giving off. "NEW ENEMY TYPE DETECTED." Omega said. "COMBAT ID UNKNOWN. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: **DESTROY EGGMAN**. ALL OTHER OBSTACLES WILL BE **_ELIMINATED!_** "

Omega drew his machine gun on the creature, who gave a malevolent chuckle in return, more amused by the threat if anything. "You're spirited, I'll give you that." the being said, his voice carrying a demonic echo. "Alright then, you'll be the perfect punching bag for my new power!" The creature curled itself up as gemstone on its chest began glowing bright. With a fierce yell, it outstretched its arms and unleashed a wave of crimson energy that engulfed Omega.

" _UNKNOWN HOSTILE ENCOUNTERED! ROUGE, COME IN!_ " came Omegas frantic call. " _POSITION COORDINATES LOST! CURRENT LOCATION UNKNOWN!_ "

" _Omega?! What's going on?!_ " Rouge asked in a panic. "Respond!" But there was no response on Omega's end. " _I've lost Omega's signal! Shadow, head to his last known location and provide support!_ "

"Already on it." Shadow said, having reached the Arsenal Pyramid. He hopped off his bike and made his way inside the base. " _So much for recon._ " he thought, a smile tugging at his lips. Shadow raced inside the pyramid, following the trail of destruction Omega left in his wake. Suddenly, Omega's voice chimed in on the communicator.

"THIS IS E-123 OMEGA. ALL SENSORS OFFLINE. DAMAGE TO PARIETAL LOBE REGION. CASUALTY REPORT: ROUGE FALLEN. SHADOW TO BE ELIMINATED!"

"Omega? What the hell are you talking about? What's going on over there?" Shadow asked in confusion.

"UNIDENTIFIED SYSTEM INTRUSION!" Omega shouted. "EMERGENCY WITHDRAWAL! I AM EE-123 OMEGA! THE MOST POWERFUL..." That was all Omega could say before the connection was cut.

"Omega?! Omega, talk to me!" A thousand swear words were swirling around in his mind was he made his way to Omega's last known location.

When he got there, he was horrified by what he saw. Omega was on the ground, heavily damaged. And there was a masked figure standing over him. The figure let out a cruel, triumphant laugh at the fallen robot. "The world's most powerful robot is no more a challenge than Crabmeat." the being spoke, contemptuously stomping on Omega. "This new power is something else."

The figure then turned to face Shadow. "And even more wonderful. A not-so-tall, dark, and brooding guest has arrived. It's been a while, Shadow."

"Tell me what you did to Omega." Shadow demanded, the cold tone in his voice betraying the boiling rage within.

"Come on, Shadow. Is that any way to greet an old friend?" the being mockingly asked.

"I don't know who the hell you are." Shadow bluntly replied. "And frankly, I don't give a damn. Now what did you do to Omega? I won't ask a third time."

"I guess it is hard to recognize me." the figure said. "What, with this stupid mask and all. But I'll give you a hint: For you, that base in Mystic Jungle was just one in a long line of Eggman bases you tore down without a second thought. But for me... it was _everything_."

Shadow paused as he reflected on the being's words. A base in Mystic Jungle? Then his eyes widened as he thought back to that mission in the Mystic Jungle two months ago. He stared at the figure in front of him. "Xander?" Shadow asked, completely stunned. The figure responded by removing his mask, revealing that it was indeed Alexander "Zero" Anubis. Only his left eye had red sclera with a yellow pupil and his right eye was nothing but a purple swirl of energy.

"Miss me, Shadow?" Zero said.

"Wh-What have you done to yourself?!" Shadow asked, still in disbelief at the revelation. It took a lot to catch Shadow off guard, but this is the one of the rare moments where he is legitimately surprised.

"I got myself an upgrade." Zero replied. "And I owe it all to you. Before I met you, I considered myself the toughest son of a bitch out there. But then you came along. You took my eye. You took my _squad_. And you taught me something. You taught me that I wasn't _nearly_ as strong as I thought I was. Failing to save my squad, failing to even _avenge_ them opened my eyes and made me painfully aware of my weakness. So I agreed to be part of the doctor's pet project, and bonded myself to the Phantom Ruby. And as you can see, I'm quite happy with the results."

"The Phantom Ruby?" Shadow asked. "That's the top-secret weapon Eggman's been working on?"

"Pretty much." Zero shrugged, tapping the ruby on his chest. "Strange, isn't it? At first glance, it looks like an ordinary rock. But this thing gives me power unimaginable. But rather than waste time telling you, why don't I give you a proper demonstration?!" Zero raised his hand and formed an orb of crimson energy. "Let's take a little reality trip, shall we?!"

The orb in Zero's hand grew and expanded, engulfing Zero, Shadow, and the unconscious Omega. Shadow attempted to move, but found it impossible. He felt himself being levitated into the air. And then came a bright flash of light. When the light faded, all three of them had disappeared.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Dark Illusions. Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ After his harrowing encounter with Zero, Shadow awakens to find himself... in Green Hill Zone?! He is then contacted by Rouge, who reminds him that he's there to recover Omega, who disappeared three months ago. Shadow races to find his friend, but quickly discovers all isn't as it seems. Now our hero finds himself trapped in a living nightmare. Will the Ultimate Life Form survive? Find out on the next haunting chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**


	11. Chapter 11: The Shadows of Madness!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ A recon mission goes horribly wrong when Omega impulsively launches an assault on Eggman's base in Green Hill Zone, leading to him being attacked by an unknown assailant. Shadow rushes in to save his friend and comes face-to-face with Zero, the jackal mercenary he fought two months ago. Now armed with the immense power of the Phantom Ruby, Zero proceeded to use its power to crush Shadow. Now our hero awakens to find himself in a living nightmare.**

 **Content Warning: Chapter contains disturbing imagery, a result of my sick, twisted, fucked up imagination. Viewer discretion is advised.**

" _Shadow? Shadow? Shadow! Do you hear me!_ " Rouge's voice came through on the communicator. A groan escaped Shadow's lips as consciousness slowly returned to him. His eyes flew open and he sprang to his feet. "Xander!" he shouted. Shadow looked around to find himself... back in Green Hill Zone? But wasn't he in Eggman's base right now? Something felt wrong.

"What the... Where am I?" Shadow asked. That's when he remembered. "That guy... What happened to Xander?"

" _What are you mumbling about?_ " Rouge asked. " _Shadow, are you okay?_ "

"I'm... not sure." Shadow tentatively replied. "Head feels all... scrambled."

" _Well, in that case, allow me to bring you up to speed_." Rouge began. " _We sent Omega on a mission three months ago, but he never made it back. Your job is to find him and bring him back_."

Shadow paused a bit. Everything about this scenario felt wrong and he had a plethora of questions to ask, but Omega's safety came first. "Understood. On my way." Shadow turned off his communicator and made his way through the lush hills of the Zone, following Omega's signal. As he raced through the Zone, he noticed that it was infested with these strange red cubes. These objects came in all different shapes and formations, mostly orbs that flung themselves at Shadow when he came near them.

"Rouge, what's the deal with these red cubes?" Shadow asked.

" _I dunno._ " Rouge replied. "They began appearing a few weeks ago. _They're mostly harmless, but I'd avoid them just in case._ "

"Hmm." Shadow thought. Just how long was he unconscious anyway? How could so much time have passed? But that brings up another matter. "What actually happened to Omega?"

" _Oh, who knows?_ " Rouge replied. " _We haven't heard a beep from him since he was dispatched last week_."

"Wait a minute, I thought you said he left three months ago?" Shadow asked, catching the inconsistency in her statement.

"Oh, I did?" Rouge asked, feigning ignorance. " _Sorry, I misspoke. In any case, that Omega sure is a clumsy bucket of bolts isn't he? Oooh, I can't wait to see the look on that smashed-up tin can's face!_ "

Okay, now something was seriously wrong here. That didn't sound like something Rouge would say, especially about a close friend like Omega. "You. Are you really Rouge?" Shadow asked, his suspicion growing by the second.

" _Of course I'm me._ " Rouge replied. " _Just like you're you._ "

Shadow, however, remained unconvinced. There were too many strange things happening here. "There was a girl on the Space Colony ARK I was close to. What was her name?" Her answer would tell him all he needed to know.

" _Shadow, I don't see the point of_ -"

"HER NAME!" Shadow shouted.

" _Maria Robotnik_." Rouge replied. " _Granddaughter of Dr. Gerald C. Robotnik, the grandfather of Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik_." Shadow remained silent. He couldn't deny that that was something only Rouge would know, yet at the same time, there was something off about the whole thing. And it left a nagging feeling in the back of his mind.

" _Now, if we're done with this game of Twenty Questions, you're getting close to Omega's last known location_." Rouge said. Shadow shrugged and continued to make his way through the Zone, avoiding the red cubes. Eventually, he came to the location of Omega's last known location. Only problem? There was no Omega.

"This is Omega's last known location." Shadow said. "But there's no sign of him here."

"Rouge giggled in response, only her giggle was more malicious than normal. " _Sure seems that way. Probably because he was never there in the first place!_ "

"What?!" Shadow exclaimed.

"AFFIRMATIVE. I HAVE NEVER KNOWN D-D-DE-DEFEAT." a familiar voice rang out. Shadow turned behind him and saw Omega. He was seemingly unharmed, but the glitching tone in his voice made Shadow a tad uneasy. "Omega? Is that you?" Shadow asked.

"I AM NOT DEFEATED." Omega rambled on, at which point something strange began to happen. Omega began to glitch out like he was in a faulty computer program. "I AM NOT WEAK. I AM NOT WEAK. I AM NOT WEAK. I AM NOT WEAK. I AM NOT WEAK. I AM NOT WEAK." Over and over again, the glitching Omega repeated that line like a broken record.

And just when things couldn't get any weirder, Omega was soon joined... by another Omega who chanted the same line. Then another Omega appeared, and another, and another after that. Shadow quickly found himself surrounded by an army of Omegas, all of them glitching and chanting the same damn line like it was some personal mantra. Even more disturbing, their voices were starting to sound less like Omega and more like Zero.

One of the Omegas charged at Shadow and tried to swipe at him with his claws, only for Shadow to grab him and throw him into the crowd of Omegas. Another tried to charge at him, but Shadow turned and delivered a roundhouse kick that knocked him to the ground. But then he was tackled to the ground by a few other Omegas. Then the other Omegas in the crowd began to dogpile on top of them, hoping to overwhelm Shadow with sheer numbers. It seemed to work...

...Key word: _seemed_.

Beams of red light erupted from the pile of Omegas and it was quickly followed by an explosion of Chaos Energy, courtesy of Shadow's Chaos Blast. The shockwave threw the Omega clones off of Shadow and heavily damaged any others unlucky enough to be caught in the vicinity. Shadow took a moment to rest. Using the Chaos Blast always took a lot out of him. His respite was cut short, however, when the Omegas dissolved into red cubes and the cubes all came together, forming a colossal tidal wave.

Still weakened from the Chaos Blast, Shadow took off running as fast as his Air Shoes could take him. But try as he might, he couldn't outrun the encroaching wave of cubes, and was quickly overtaken. Shadow found himself drowning in a sea of crimson.

And then, came the darkness.

* * *

"Shadow...? Shadow? Shadow, are you okay?" A girl's voice pierced through the darkness of Shadow's unconscious mind. Shadow slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a bedroom of sorts. Shadow was greatly confused by the development, but when he looked out the window, he was shocked to find himself in outer space. That's when it all became clear. He recognized where he was.

"I'm in the Space Colony ARK." Shadow muttered to himself. "How the hell did I get here?"

"Thank goodness you're okay." the girl's voice rang out from behind, this time much more clearer. Shadow's eyes widened at the sound. " _That voice...!_ " he thought to himself. " _No, it couldn't be!_ " Slowly, he turned around to look behind him and came face-to-face with someone he never thought he'd see again. Sitting on a chair was a human girl, who was about two heads taller than Shadow. She had neck-long and voluminous dark blond hair, light skin, large blue eyes, and pink lips. Her hairstyle was wavy and held back with a blue hair band. For clothes, she wore a dark blue top with short puffy sleeves and light blue endings, a light blue dress, and slipper-like cobalt shoes with low heels. It was Maria Robotnik, Shadow's best friend.

In his heart, Shadow knew who this was, but his brain refused to let him believe it. Even now, his brain was telling him that this had to be some kind of trick. All Shadow could do was stare in abject disbelief. "Something wrong, Shadow?" Maria asked. "You look pale."

"Maria... Is that really you?" Shadow asked, still completely dumbfounded.

"Of course it's me, Shadow." Maria replied. "You sure you're okay? You kinda overdid it in the training room, took a nasty blow to the head. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to be too bad." She placed an assuring hand on his cheek, her touch carrying the same warmth he had always remembered of her. "Just be more careful next time."

Shadow stared in stunned silence, and then tightly embraced Maria, as if he never wanted to let her go again. "I'm just so happy to see you." he whispered, his voice cracking with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm happy to see you too, Shadow." Maria replied. "It's nice to spend some time together before it all ends." That made Shadow look up at Maria, brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean before it-?" Shadow's query was interrupted in a manner most brutal: a gunshot rang in the air and a hole was ripped through Maria's skull, causing blood to splatter in Shadow's face. Maria fell in Shadow's arms, dying with the same serene smile on her face.

Shadow's expression, however, was one of complete shock and horror. Immediately his mind flashed back to that fateful day when Maria valiantly risked her life to see Shadow to safety, only to be gunned down like some dog in the streets. " _No. No, God, no. I can't lose her again!"_ Shadow thought. " _ **MARIA!**_ " came the hedgehog's anguished scream.

He then looked up to see a GUN soldier with a gun in hand, trembling like a leaf. Shadow's tear-stained eyes were now filled with boiling rage. A red aura began surrounding him. " ** _YOU BASTARD!_** " Shadow roared as he pounced on the soldier, tackling him to the ground. Lost in his hate and rage, Shadow summoned a Chaos Spear and stabbed the soldier again and again and again.

"You took her from me!" he screamed as he continued his assault, becoming more frenzied as his rage grew. "You'll pay for this!"

"Shadow? What are you doing?" Maria called out. Shadow looked behind him to see that Maria's corpse had vanished. He then turned to face the fallen soldier, and his face blanched with horror as he realized that he wasn't stabbing a soldier...

...he was stabbing his friend Maria.

Shadow leapt off of Maria and backed away in horror. "Maria, I... I didn't mean it." Shadow stammered.

"Why, Shadow?" Maria pleaded. "Why did you hurt me? You were my friend! You were supposed to bring hope to humanity!" Her tone then turned harsh and demonic. "But instead, you bring only death!" That's when things got truly disturbing. Maria's bloodied body rose to her feet. Her skin began to rot and decay. She was soon joined by other zombified corpses, the staff on the ARK who were murdered in the raid.

"Look at them, Shadow." Maria hissed. "All the souls you couldn't save. The innocent victims you let die. Their bodies littered the ARK and you did nothing! Their blood is on your hands, Shadow!"

"I... I..." Shadow struggled to say.

"You're a plague on humanity, Shadow!" Maria screeched. "And it's time to atone for your sins!" The zombies charged at Shadow, intent on tearing him limb from limb. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, Shadow ran for his life. He made his way through the twisting, winding, seemingly endless hallway with the zombie hordes following close behind. Eventually, he made his way to a door and ran through it...

...and that proved to be a fatal mistake.

Shadow fell screaming into a dark abyss. His descent was short-lived as he landed in the palm of a gigantic Zero. The titanic jackal began laughing maliciously as he threw Shadow into his waiting jaws. When Shadow opened his eyes, he found himself back in Sunset Heights. Specifically, an abandoned part of the city slated for demolition.

"What the..?" Shadow muttered. "I'm back here. Is this another illusion?"

"Don't worry. You're back in reality." Zero called out from behind him. Shadow looked to see Zero sitting on a piece of debris. "That was just to give you a taste of what I can do." he continued. "Pretty trippy, huh? So, what do you think? Impressive, huh?"

Shadow remained silent for a moment, then did something he rarely did. He laughed. A slow chuckle that quickly grew into a derisive mocking cackle. "I think... That you're even more pathetic than I thought." Shadow spat. "You lost your friends, so instead of owning up to your weakness, you went and sold your soul to Eggman for power. Just when I thought you couldn't get any more pitiful, you go and top yourself. But hey, I guess the illusion powers suit you. False powers for a false warrior. But that's not your worst mistake. Your worst mistake... was hurting my friend Omega. So congratulations, pal, you just committed suicide."

Omega chose his fate." Zero replied. "Those words ring any bells?"

Shadow growled and clenched his fists. His features then relaxed into his trademark smirk before suddenly teleporting away, leaving Zero confused. Before he could react, Shadow appeared right in front of him and delivered a roundhouse kick that sent Zero flying into a nearby building. Zero quickly flew out of the building, surrounded by a crimson aura.

"I've been waiting for this for three damn months." Zero snarled. "We settle this here!" The two combatants charged at each other, eager to settle the score once and for all.

 **To Be Continued...**

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: The Ultimate Rematch. Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ Zero and Shadow face off in a grand final battle, the climatic clash pushing their abilities to their utmost limit. Who will come out on top in this all out battle of the titans? Find out on the next epic chapter of _Sonic Forces!_**


	12. Chapter 12: The Ultimate Rematch!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ After encountering the jackal mercenary, Zero, Shadow was thrown into a series of elaborate and terrifying illusions designed to demonstrate the power of the Phantom Ruby. Now the two rivals face off in a grand final battle. Witness the epic showdown, now!**

 **Author's Note: Of all my issues with _Forces_ , my biggest criticism was that we never got a proper boss fight between Infinite and Shadow. So, as you can obviously tell, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it.**

 **Just For Fun: There's a moment in the fight where I recommend reading while listening to _All Hail Shadow._ The words to look for are in bold. **

The calm and quiet of Sunset Heights was suddenly and violently shattered by an explosion from the abandoned part of town across the Red Gate Bridge. From a distance, it almost looked like fireworks were going over there. But in actuality, a fierce battle was underway between two powerful combatants: Shadow the Hedgehog and Zero the Jackal.

Zero materialized his sword and swung it, releasing a crescent blade of crimson energy. Shadow teleported away to dodge it, causing the blade to slice a building in half. Shadow was all too grateful that there were no people nearby, allowing him to cut loose without fear of casualties.

Shadow reappeared behind Zero to deliver a roundhouse kick to the back of his head, only for Zero to suddenly dissolve into tiny red cubes. Zero then reassembled himself right next to Shadow and fired an energy blast at point-blank range, sending him flying into a building. Shadow flew out of the building using his Boost attack. Zero stood his ground and locked hands with Shadow, the two grappling in a desperate attempt to overpower the other.

Unbeknownst to the two combatants, their fierce battle had an audience of one. High in the sky, safely out of reach and out of sight, was Metal Sonic. Metal watched intently as Shadow and Zero squared off. His telescopic vision allowed him to watch the fight even from the great distance he was.

" _Keep a close eye on them, Metal Sonic_." Eggman said. " _This will be an excellent field test for the Phantom Ruby prototype_."

"Acknowledged." Metal replied.

Shadow and Zero continued grappling until Zero flipped Shadow over and kicked him aside. Shadow sprang to his feet and fired several Chaos Spears. Zero teleported away in a flash of red static, reappearing in front of Shadow to deliver an Axe Kick to his head. Shadow blocked the kick, grabbed Zero's ankle, and threw him to the ground.

Shadow quickly followed up with a Homing Attack, but Zero sunk into a portal below him, causing Shadow to hit the ground. Shadow frantically looked around to find Zero, only for the jackal to emerge from a portal and deliver a dropkick to Shadow's face, sending him flying. Zero then opened a portal and sent his fist through it, from where it emerged through another portal and punched Shadow clean in the face.

Zero repeatedly punched through the portal, causing his fists to emerge through more portals and punch Shadow, sending him flying all over the place like a pinball. Zero then charged through the portal and came through a portal directly above Shadow, tackling him and sending him crashing through the building, pummeling him as he did.

Once they hit the ground, Zero continued to beat Shadow until Shadow grabbed his wrists and headbutted him, staggering Zero and giving Shadow a chance to kick him off of him. Shadow jumped into the air and tried to land another Homing Attack, only for Zero to conjure a fist created from red energy cubes and punch Shadow clean out of the building.

Zero teleported into the air and conjured several copies of his sword. He then sent them all hurtling at Shadow. The Ultimate Life Form did his best to avoid the barrage, eventually taking cover behind some debris. However, once the swords embedded themselves into the ground, they all began glowing. Realizing what was about to happen, Shadow attempted to escape, but it was too late. The phantom blades simultaneously exploded, engulfing Shadow in the blast.

When the smoke cleared, most of the buildings were reduced to piles of rubble. Shadow emerged from some of the debris, battered and bruised, but still very much alive. "Still in one piece?" Zero asked as he hovered above him. "I'm impressed. Though I expect no less from the so-called Ultimate Life Form. Last time, you had the advantage. But now I've evened the playing field. Get the picture? I'm not the weakling you fought two months ago."

Shadow stood up and wiped the blood dripping from the side of his mouth with his thumb. Without a word, Shadow removed his **Inhibitor Rings.** The red parts of his fur began glowing and soon after, Chaos energy erupted from Shadow's body, surrounding him in an aura of red Chaos energy, with wisps of red lightning emanating from his eyes.

From his perch in the air, Metal Sonic watched as Shadow unleashed his inner power. "Doctor, Shadow's energy level has increased exponentially." he said.

" _I can see that_." Eggman replied. " _So, Shadow's going all out, eh? Well, at last we'll see who's truly the Ultimate Life Form_."

Zero watched the spectacle with a raised eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Getting serious, huh?" he asked.

"I'll admit you've improved." Shadow said. "But you said it yourself: I'm the Ultimate Life Form. So there's _no one_ I can't defeat!" Displaying far more speed than before, Shadow charged at Zero and delivered a solid punch to the jackal's face, sending him flying through one of the ruined buildings. The dark hedgehog rocketed past him and kicked him high into the air.

Shadow teleported next to him and prepared to sledgehammer him into the ground, only for Zero to dissolve into cubes at the last second, reassembling to strike at Shadow with his tail and send him crashing to the ground. Zero then summoned thousands of clones of himself and they all began firing energy blasts at Shadow.

Shadow dodged the barrage as best as he could, retaliating by firing Chaos Spears at some of the clones. But every time he destroyed one, more arose to take their place. The army of Zeros materialized their swords and swarmed Shadow, attacking from all sides. Shadow attempted to fight off the swarm of jackals, however, some managed to land a few good cuts on him with their blades. Soon enough, Shadow quickly found himself overwhelmed.

"Enough of this! Chaos... _BLAST!_ " Shadow roared an unleashed a blast of Chaos energy that obliterated most of Zero's clones. Thanks to Shadow removing his Inhibitor Rings, the blast was larger and more powerful. Shadow fell to his knees, exhausted and covered in cuts and bruises. Fighting at full power without his Inhibitor Rings was taxing enough, but the damage he sustained from the fight was only compounding it.

" _I'm not going to last long at this rate._ " Shadow thought to himself. " _I need to end this quick._ " His thoughts were cut short by the sound of Zero rising from the ground, enveloped in crimson energy. A look of absolute rage was etched into his features. With a furious roar, Zero flew at Shadow.

" _Alright, I've got enough power for one last shot._ " Shadow thought. " _This might end up killing me, so I better make it count._ " Focusing whatever Chaos energy he had into his fist, Shadow charged at Zero. The two combatants' fists collided with each other, unleashing an explosion of energy that engulfed the abandoned town. Metal Sonic quickly threw up his Black Shield to defend against the blast. To anyone watching in the distance, it looked as if a nuclear bomb went off.

When the smoke cleared, what was left of the abandoned town was utterly annihilated. Little more than dust remained. Though his shield absorbed the brunt of the explosion, Metal Sonic didn't walk away unscathed. Lying in the epicenter of the explosion were the lifeless bodies of Shadow and Zero. While they seemed to be dead, a quick scan of their vitals revealed that the two were miraculously still alive.

And sure enough, Zero slowly crawled to his feet, breathing hard. "Even after going through hell to gain the power of this ruby, we're still evenly matched." he mused, walking towards the unconscious Shadow. "You're the toughest guy I've ever fought. It's a shame. Another time, another place, we could've been allies. But you killed my squad."

He grabbed Shadow by the hair and in the other hand, materialized a replica of Tyler's dagger. "Now then, you took my eye. So I think it's fair I get one of yours!" He raised his arm and prepared to stab Shadow in the eye, only to feel something grab his wrist. Zero turned to see Metal Sonic standing behind him. "Metal?"

" _Congratulations on your victory._ " Eggman's voice came through Metal. " _But I have a more suitable punishment for Shadow. In the meantime, how would you like to send your former employers at GUN a message?"_

Zero raised an eyebrow in response. "I'm listening."

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, at GUN Headquarters...**_

Rouge was in a panic. It had been hours since she heard from Shadow and neither he nor Omega has responded. Sure, they were both tough cookies, but she was getting worried. Any and all attempts to contact them were met with nothing but radio static. A part of her was beginning to fear the worst.

At that moment, Commander Abraham Tower entered the room. Tower was an imposing figure with tanned skin and hair that was grey from age. His most noticeable feature was his mismatched eyes, a result of heterochromia from birth. His left eye was green while his right eye was brown. A war veteran and a seasoned soldier, Tower had been the commander of GUN for years and had earned the undying loyalty and respect from his troops for his bold leadership and unshakable resolve.

"Any word yet from Shadow?" Tower asked. It was still strange for Rouge to hear the Commander being concerned about Shadow. Tower grew up on the Space Colony ARK along with Maria Robotnik and blamed Shadow for her death and the deaths of those aboard the ARK. But after the Black Arms invasion, the two have settled their differences and have since become staunch allies (though they do occasionally butt heads).

"Negative." Rouge replied. "Haven't been able to reach him or Omega. Wherever they are, there's some massive radio interference."

"Huh." Tower replied. "Well I'm sure they're okay. Shadow and Omega are the toughest soldiers we've got."

"I hope so." Came Rouge's wistful reply. The heartwarming conversation was quickly silenced by a thunderous explosion, startling Tower and Rouge. "What the hell was that?!" Tower demanded. A GUN soldier came rushing in the door. "Commander! It's Shadow!" the soldier said. "He's gone nuts! He's trashing the weapons deck!"

"What?!" Tower exclaimed. Rouge immediately flew out the room and straight towards the weapons bay as fast as her wings could carry her, hoping and praying that what the soldier said wasn't true. The sight that greeted her was a scene of absolute devastation. All the weapons and vehicles in the bay were destroyed and the soldiers, with the aid of some of the GUN robots attempted to fight off Shadow, only to be effortlessly blasted away with a few Chaos Spears.

"Shadow, what the hell are you doing?!" Rouge flew down to confront her friend. "Have you lost your goddamn mind?!"

"Rouge, stay back!" one of the soldiers yelled.

"Stand down, Shadow." Tower sternly commanded. The Commander was flanked by several more GUN troops, all of them had guns trained on Shadow. "Or we'll put you down."

"Listen to them, Shadow." Rouge said. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but maybe we can help. Just stand down. Don't do something you're gonna regret." Shadow, however, didn't reply. Stranger still, he seemed to be glitching like he was in a computer game. The black hedgehog outstretched his arms and his Inhibitor Rings flew off of his wrists. "Oh, hell!" Rouge's eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen. "Everyone move, NOW!"

Tower, Rouge, and the soldiers ran out of the weapons deck as Shadow began glowing with Chaos energy, which he unleashed in the form of a massive Chaos Blast that destroyed the weapons deck and a chunk of the main headquarters. With the job done, Shadow teleported away.

Soon after, Rouge emerged from the rubble. Though wounded from the blast and bleeding heavily, she was miraculously still alive. She tried to rise to her feet, but quickly fell to the ground in exhaustion. "S-S-Shadow..." she muttered before losing consciousness.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Moment of Truth. Next time on _Sonic Forces!_ Eggman launches an assault on the peaceful town of Sunset Heights and only the Chaotix stand a chance of defending it. But when the cannon needed to shoot down Eggman's ship needs ammunition, a young soldier must find his courage and land the decisive blow. Witness the epic final chapter of the _Sonic Forces: Prelude to War_.**

 **Author's Note: I know what you're all gonna ask me: "Is Rouge dead? Is Commander Tower dead? What happened to Shadow?" Well I'm not gonna _tell_ you! You'll have to read on to find out.**


	13. Chapter 13: Moment of Truth!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ Shadow and Zero engaged in an epic showdown, the climatic clash pushing both of them to their breaking point. Despite Shadow's best efforts, Zero ultimately emerged the victor. Then, more tragedy struck as GUN headquarters was utterly destroyed... By Shadow himself! Now our tale takes us back to Sunset Heights, turned into a fortress ready for war.**

 **Author's Note: Alright. _Technically_ , this is the final chapter. But I had a lot to write and trying to squeeze it all in one chapter would be too much. So there's an epilogue coming up. **

Welcome to the peaceful city of Sunset Heights. Only it wasn't as peaceful as it normally is. In fact, things have been downright hectic these past few weeks. First, there was Silver and the gang warning the town that Eggman had plans to invade the city. That startled everyone enough. But then the entire abandoned part of town was utterly destroyed in an explosion a week ago. That had the town in a panic.

But the final straw came when the news reported GUN headquarters was destroyed. The death toll was _horrendous_. 600 dead! Commander Abraham Tower and Rouge the Bat were among the few survivors. The culprit was reported to be Shadow the Hedgehog. That fueled waves of fear and speculation. Some speculated that Shadow had gone to the dark side again. Others suspected that Dr. Eggman was behind the ordeal.

Regardless, the attack on GUN headquarters sent the United Federation into a frenzy. There were talks of war flying about daily. Countries around the world were preparing for the coming conflict. And Sunset Heights was no exception. Knuckles and Espio had opened up a school to teach civilians self defense. Other civilians began arming themselves with Wispons, weapons designed to utilize the powers of the strange aliens known as Wisps, a result of the combined technological genius of Tails the Fox and Wave the Swallow.

Beyond the Wispons and the training. The city was also armed with multiple artillery cannons to serve as anti-aircraft. It seemed everyone was preparing for battle... everyone except for one, that is. In a building near the edge of the town, there was a young soldier. He was a young cat by the name of Leo. His full name was Leonardo Lionheart. With a name like Leo, you'd think he was a brave and daring young man with a thirst for adventure.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Leo grew up hearing stories of the fantastic adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Amy Rose, and always wanted to be as cool and heroic as them. But... he was a coward. In fact, the reason he signed up for look-out duty was so he could be _away_ from the fighting. He could hide and be the first one to know that trouble was coming so he could run away.

Leo leaned on the guard rail, looking out at the horizon when he heard the sound of a laser being fired. The poor cat nearly leapt out of his fur. With his heart furiously beating in his chest, Leo looked down to see the Chaotix on the street below. They had arrived a few days ago to fortify the city's defenses. Charmy Bee had accidently fired a Wispon. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Leo breathed a sigh of relief. As he watched Vector berate Charmy for his recklessness, he couldn't help but admire them... and envy them. The Chaotix were as goofy as they came and yet here they were, ready to defend the city. Even Charmy was willing to fight, and he was just a child!

And then there was Leo, a coward who's first instinct is to run at the slightest hint of danger.

Leo sighed. " _I volunteered because I thought I could help in some way_." he thought. " _But who am I kidding? I'm just a fraidy-cat. Maybe I should leave and stay out of everybody's_ -" Leo's thoughts were interrupted by the sight of one of Eggman's dropships. The ship opened its hangar doors and Egg Pawns fell from the ship and landed. The mechanized menaces marched towards the city gates. Even from a distance, their glowing red eyes could be seen, lighting up the ground in a parade of red lights.

Leo rang the bell in a panic, yelling "Eggman's attacking! Eggman's attacking!" Hearing the bell, Vector turned to the Chaotix. "Nobody panic!" the crocodile commanded. "We've been preparing for this! Everyone, take your positions!"

"Yeah! Time to show Eggman what we can do!" Charmy cheered.

"Espio turned to young fox next to him. "Take your unit to the main gate." he ordered.

"Hey rookie!" Vector yelled at Leo, startling him. "Get down here and help shore up the defenses!" Leo blinked a few times in surprise, then replied, "Yes sir!" as he slid down the ladder. " _This is it!_ " he thought. " _This is my moment to shine! I'm not going to run away! I'm going to_ _help!_ " Leo ran over to a pipe on the ground and tried to pick it up. The key word was "tried". Sadly, Leo wasn't the most athletic of individuals, so his attempts to lift the pipe were a tad pathetic.

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Vector walked over to Leo and grabbed the pipe with one hand, carrying it over his shoulder. "If you can't do it, then say something! We don't have time to waste!" he yelled as he walked away.

"Sorry..." Leo sheepishly muttered to himself. Espio walked up to him with a Burst Wispon in hand. "You don't seem busy." the chameleon ninja said. "Take this and help the second division." Espio handed Leo the Wispon, who examined the weapon like an excited child getting a new toy. He had seen the Wispons before, but never actually used one in action.

" _A Wispon!_ " he thought. " _With this, I won't be too afraid to fight! I can really help!_ " Leo fumbled about as he attempted to operate the weapon. "How do I-whoops!" Leo managed to find the trigger. Unfortunately, the weapon was aimed right at Charmy, sending a stream of fire that roasted the poor bee's stinger. "Yow!" Charmy shrieked in pain.

Espio quickly took the Burst Wispon from Leo. "Perhaps a Wispon is a bit too much for you." Espio said as he left with Charmy, who glared daggers at the young cat.

"I'm sorry!" Leo yelled. "I'm a sorry piece of shit, that is."

Meanwhile, the Chaotix arrived at the city gates just as the Egg Pawns began blasting at them. "It's coming down!" a female cat shouted as she ran from the gates. Seconds later, they were blasted open as the Egg Pawns swarmed the city, opening fire on everyone in their way.

"Time to earn our pay, boys!" Vector said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Roger!" Espio replied as he drew his sword, holding it a reverse grip.

"My stinger stings..." Charmy whined, still nursing his injured posterior. The trio of detectives charged at the army of Egg Pawns. Roaring like the crocodile he was, Vector charged at one of the Egg Pawns delivered a solid punch that sent the robot flying into a crowd of other Egg Pawns. One actually managed to shoot him from behind. Vector turned around and chomped down on the robot hard, tearing it to pieces with his powerful jaws. More Egg Pawns charged at him, but Vector breathed a torrent of flames, melting them all to slag.

Espio dashed through a group of Egg Pawns, taking them down with clean, precise cuts from his blade. Vaulting into the air, Espio drew several kunai and threw them at some of the Egg Pawns, dispatching them. When he landed on the ground, Espio found himself surrounded by several Egg Pawns. Before they could fire on him, however, Espio used his Ninja Arts: Camouflage technique, turning completely invisible.

The Egg Pawns looked about in confusion until one of them was viciously hacked to pieces by an unseen attacker. The others panicked and began wildly firing their lasers, but one by one, they were all torn apart. With all of them dead, Espio rendered himself visible once again, sheathing his blade. "All too easy." he remarked.

Charmy flew into the army of Egg Pawns and opened fire on them with his personal Spike Wispon, a Wispon designed to resemble a Tommy Gun that utilizes the power of Pink Wisps. The spikes the weapon fired shredded through the Egg Pawns' subpar armor. When Charmy found himself surrounded by the Egg Pawns, the young bee spun around in a circle, conjuring a whirlwind that carried the Egg Pawns high into the air. "Yay me!" he cheered.

The Chaotix and the civilians did their best to fight off the invading robots. And where was Leo during all this? In an ally beating himself up over his shortcomings. "I'm a failure, a coward, a fraidy-cat, a-" Leo's fit of self-loathing was cut short by the sound of Vector's voice. "Somebody launch the bombs!" Vector yelled. "The robots haven't gotten to the artillery cannon yet! Someone bring down that battleship!"

Leo looked to find a box of ammunition sitting right next to him. "The cannon is clear?" he thought. " _Then... I could arm and fire it without fighting! But there's no way I could arm and load enough of these to bring down that battleship! Unless..._ " Leo grabbed one of the rounds and took off running towards the cannon. " _Gotta hurry! Only one shot at this!_ "

Leo loaded the cannon and and took the controls, aiming the cannon square at the battleship's launch bay. " _Please God, let this work._ " he thought as he pulled the trigger, firing a shot that hit the battleship square in launch bay, damaging it and bringing the battleship down. The fortress crashed to the ground in a flaming heap, destroying any Egg Pawns underneath it.

" _ **What?!** A direct hit to the launch bay?!_" Eggman shrieked. " _Grr... You may have won this round, but I'll be back with more! **Much** more!_"

The air was filled with raucous and jubilant cheers as the townsfolk celebrated their victory. "It's over... for now." Espio said.

"Good work, Chaotix." Vector replied. "Take five then, let's focus on organizing an evacuation."

" _I shot at Dr. Eggman._ " Leo thought as he clumsily climbed down from the cannon, still in awe at what he had done. " _I shot at Dr. Eggman and lived!_ " He didn't have much time to pat himself on the back when Vector called out to him again. "Hey you!" Vector walked up to him and gave him a hearty clap on the back, nearly knocking Leo to the ground. "Way to go, buddy!" he said. "That shot was one-in-a-million!"

"An excellent tactical choice!" Espio said.

"Yeah! You were cool!" Charmy cheered, flying up to Leo and vigorously shaking his hand. "So cool, I'll forgive you for burning my butt!"

"Th-Thanks!" Leo replied with a sheepish chuckle. "Sorry about that..."

"Okay, break-time's over!" Vector said. "Let's get these villagers somewhere safe!" The Chaotix left the area, leaving Leo alone. As he looked about the battlefield, he thought to himself. " _I helped save the day, but I could've done more. I'll do better, I'll be better. I'll become a better soldier and a real hero._ " From that day forward, Leo resolved to overcome his fear, to not be controlled by his fear.

Of course, soon he and countless others would get the chance to prove their worth in battle.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Preview: Ruby Corruptions! In the epilogue of _Sonic Forces!_ Having tested Sunset Heights' defenses and seeing the weapons wielded by the townsfolk, Eggman decides to experiment on the Phantom Ruby to further increase its power. However, his experiments might have some unintended side effects...**


	14. Epilogue: Corrupted Heart, Tainted Mind!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _Sonic Forces!_ Eggman launched an assault on the city of Sunset Heights. The Chaotix and the townsfolk fought valiantly to defend the city, and thanks to the bravery on one lone soldier, they managed to repel Eggman's attack. But the mad doctor still has some tricks up his sleeve...**

 **Author's Note: Well, here's the epilogue. With this, the second story in my _Sonic Dimensions_ trilogy comes to a close. I hope you've enjoyed reading this as I've enjoyed writing it and I hope you all look forward to my novelization of _Sonic Forces_ ' main story (even if you didn't enjoy the game).**

"Well, this was quite the learning experience." Eggman said as he watched footage from the battle of Sunset Heights. Orbot and Cubot were cleaning up the lab.

"That fight would've gone a lot differently had I been there." Zero remarked, having watched the battle along with Eggman. He was still sporting bandages from his battle with Shadow.

"Perhaps." Eggman replied. "But this was merely a probing attack. Just wanted to test their defenses. Besides, what's really intriguing are the weapons they're using. I believe they're called Wispons. Weapons designed to use the power of Wisps. Must be Tails' doing. Bright boy, that fox. If he wasn't such a goody-goody, he'd make a fine apprentice."

"You got a point, Doc?" Zero asked.

"I think I have a way to boost the Phantom Ruby's power." Eggman replied. "And a way to fight fire with fire." Eggman pressed a button on his wristwatch and a Wisp emerged into each one of the capsules in the room. There was one of each color: Red, Blue, Green, White, Orange, Cyan, Purple, Violet, Pink, Indigo, Crimson, Magenta, Gray, Ivory, and Black. The poor creatures were scared out of their minds, desperately banging on the glass in a vain attempt to escape.

"Oh, I've seen these things around." Zero said. "The boys and I used to take them out for target practice."

"Yes, well now we're going to infuse their Hyper-Go-On energy into your Phantom Ruby." Eggman said. "If I'm correct, doing so will enable you to use their Color Powers. Also, we'll infuse the Phantom Ruby with this." Eggman opened a case and pulled out what looked like a battery containing a dark purple liquid.

"This... is Dark Gaia energy." Eggman said. "The essence of a primordial incarnation of darkness that lives within the Earth's core. During one of my earlier schemes, I attempted to harness the power of this creature and I managed two retain a bit of its essence. Since then, I have been attempting to refine it into a potent energy source, but infusing into your ruby might be a more interesting experiment."

"Not to be rude, Doc, but isn't this a bit of overkill?" Zero asked. "I think we've established that I'm the toughest guy around, so what's the point of all this?"

"Do you know why I gave you the codename 'Infinite'?" Eggman asked.

"Other than the fact that it sounds like the name of someone's cheap fanfiction OC, no." Zero replied derisively.

"I called you Infinite because with the Phantom Ruby, there's nothing you can't accomplish." Eggman stated. "And need I remind you that you're still under my employ? I have big plans in store, and your powers may help see those plans fulfilled. Besides, you didn't think I gave you that gemstone just so you can fulfill your own vendetta, did you? I have a much bigger target for you, my dear boy." Eggman pressed a button on the computer and the monitor displayed a picture of Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Yeah, yeah." Zero replied with a dismissive hand wave. "You _really_ want this bastard dead, huh?"

"Dead. Destroyed. Annihilated." Eggman said sternly, clenching his fist as anger rose within him.

"I can relate to that." Zero chuckled. "And I always wanted to go one-on-one with the world's greatest hero."

"Well then, get in the chamber and we'll begin the procedure." Eggman replied. "Though I should warn you that you'll be in suspended animation for a while. It'll take a bit for all that energy to stabilize."

"So I'm gonna be taking a nap?" Zero chuckled. "Guess I could use the rest." Zero put his mask on and stepped onto the platform. A green glass tube encapsulated him and was quickly filled with liquid, causing Zero to fall asleep. "Orbot, begin the energy infusion." Eggman commanded.

Orbot inserted the battery containing the Dark Gaia energy into the base of the tube, then imputed a command in the terminal next to the tube. Within the tube, a mechanical cable emerged and latched itself onto the Phantom Ruby. At that second, the devices within the tubes containing the Wisps activated. The Wisps screamed and squealed in agony, desperately attempting to escape as they felt the devices drain their very life force. Their screams began to fade and their bodies slowly lost their vibrant colors as they died a slow and agonizing death.

"Well, all we can do now is wait for the energy to stabilize." Eggman said. "May take days or even weeks. Orbot, Cubot, come! We need to reinforce our troops." Eggman walked out of the room with the two robots following close behind. Orbot turned to look at the slumbering Zero.

"Wonder what he's thinking right now." Orbot mused.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

A groan escaped Zero as consciousness slowly returned to him. The jackal rubbed his head in pain. But he was wholly unprepared for the sight that greeted him when he opened his eyes, for he found himself not in Eggman's laboratory, but in another realm entirely. The place he found himself in was purple void with floating cubes and net-like grids above and below that extend into infinity with lightning occasionally lighting up the "sky". The only form of solid ground was composed of purple cubes.

"Where the hell am I?" Zero asked as he looked about in a mix of awe and confusion.

" _We're inside your mind._ " A voice responded. Disturbingly, the voice was Zero's own, albeit heavily distorted and demonic. " _Or, more accurately, our mind._ "

"Who said that?!" Zero demanded.

" _Me_." the voice replied.

"Me, he says." Zero grumbled. "Well where the hell are you?"

" _I'm everywhere around you_." the voice said. " _But I see that's a bit too confusing for you, so I'll make this easier_." Zero watched in amazement as the cubes in front of him rose up and coalesced into a humanoid form that quickly took them shape of... Zero himself, wearing his mask and the Phantom Ruby on his chest. "Hello, Alexander. It's good to see you again."

"What are you?" Zero asked, still stunned by the sight.

"I am many things." The being replied. "But right now, I'm the conscious will of the Phantom Ruby. You may call me... Valtron." Valtron circled around Zero, gliding above the ground and eying him like a shark eyes fresh prey. "I must say. I have been to many dimensions and have lent my power to many beings, but I've met one as intriguing as you. To be able to accomplish so much with but a fraction of the Phantom Ruby's true power."

"A fraction? What are you talking about?" Zero asked.

"The ruby that's bound to your chest... Is not the true Phantom Ruby." Valtron replied. "It is but a paltry imitation created by Eggman using the real ruby as a template. However, it is a flawed copy that could only replicate the ruby's power over illusions."

"So all this time, I've been using nothing but illusions?!" Zero asked, shocked and outraged that Eggman would deceive him this way. The outrage soon gave way to sadness and Zero lowered his head. "I really am a failure..." Valtron floated towards Zero and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I beg to differ, dear Alexander." the being said. "Look at what you accomplished. To defeat the so-called Ultimate Life Form with but a mere fragment of the ruby's power is a testament to your abilities! The strong vanquish the weak after all. Isn't that what your father taught you." The mere mention of his father caused Zero to smack Valtron's hand away. "Keep him out of this." Zero snarled.

"I'm just stating the truth." Valtron continued. "After all, why do you think you survived when your friends perished? You yourself said you were destined for greater. Together, we can make your dream..." Valtron snapped his fingers, causing the vision of Zero hovering over a destroyed city to appear before him. "...a reality."

"But... But that's not what I want!" Zero protested.

"Au contraire." Valtron replied. "I cannot create the visions. I can only project that which lies within your heart. So to deny this is to deny your heart's desire. I mean you no harm, Alexander. I merely wish to fulfill your dream. You wish to be the strongest being in existence, yes? I can help you. I can sense the energy the doctor has infused it with. I can feel it empowering the ruby, making it stronger. While it pales in comparison to the true Phantom Ruby, its power should be more than enough to make you unstoppable."

Valtron outstretched his arm to Zero. "All you need do is embrace the Phantom Ruby's power. Surrender yourself to it wholly and completely. Only then shall your desires be granted. Only then shall we truly become... _Infinite_. Yes... A most fitting name, indeed."

Zero froze, unsure of what to do. He just wanted the ruby's power to avenge his comrades. Sure, he always felt there was a bigger role for him to play, but being some destroyer wasn't one of them. But then his mind drifted to the night he lost his squad, the feeling of loss and sheer helplessness he felt. He never wanted to feel that way again. And then his mind went to the sheer power the ruby wielded, the things he could do, the way he utterly defeated Shadow, the sheer triumph he felt. If the ruby prototype could let him achieve that kind of victory, he could only imagine what it could due now that it has been empowered.

After some mental wrestling, Zero reached out and took Valtron's hand. Valtron's body burst into cubes and completely enveloped Zero, encasing the jackal in a cocoon of sorts, radiating dark purple electricity. In the real world, the computer terminal near the test tube containing Zero's sleeping body was going haywire. The monitor was filled with glitches and red static. Eventually the screen returned to normal. However, the brainwave scanner had changed from red to purple. In that moment, Alexander "Zero" Anubis was gone...

...now, there was only **Infinite.**

 **The End... For now.**

* * *

 **Author's Note: For those wondering about the name "Valtron", I did a little research on the Sonic News Network and it turns out Valtron was the original name of the Phantom Ruby. And don't worry, you'll learn more about Valtron in the main story.**

 **Till' next time!**


End file.
